The Browns on Jan. 15 officially announced hiring Tommy Rees to be their next offensive coordinator, one day after news broke that he had beaten out other candidates with more recognizable names for the post. Head coach Kevin Stefanski chose Rees over Dolphins quarterbacks coach/passing game specialist Darrell Bevell, Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Seahawks quarterbacks coach Charles London and Falcons tight ends coach Kevin Koger, all of whom Stefanski interviewed for the vacancy created when he fired Ken Dorsey on Jan. 5. Stefanski previously worked with Bevell and Kubiak when he was on the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff. “Tommy has an incredible football mind,” Stefanski said in a statement. “He is extremely bright and has been around the game his entire life. “Before joining our staff, he established himself as one of the top assistant coaches in college football. Last season, he transitioned into our tight end room and with our pass game, and he didn’t miss a beat. Due to injuries, there was a lot of uncertainty at tight end, but Tommy did a phenomenal job with that group and always had his players ready for gameday, despite, in some cases, (the players) only being with the team for a short period of time.” Stefanski was hired as Browns head coach in 2020. He hired Alex Van Pelt as his offensive coordinator. Stefanski prefers an offense in which the quarterback is often under center. He and Van Pelt worked well together to make that scheme work. Despite needing four quarterbacks to get through 2023 because of injuries and/or ineffectiveness — Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker, Dorian Thompson Robinson and Joe Flacco — the Browns won 11 games and made the playoffs as a wild-card team. Jeff Driskel started at quarterback in the final game of 2023, but he was signed only because Stefanski wanted to rest Flacco for the playoffs. The Texans eliminated the Browns, 45-14, in a wild-card game. Van Pelt was fired. Dorsey was hired to replace him. Dorsey likes an offensive with the quarterback in the shotgun most of the time. Theoretically, that style better suits Watson. But Watson was 1-5 as a starter before suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon playing against the Bengals in the seventh game.  Watson is 9-10 in three years with the Browns. Watson is not in the Browns’ plans for 2025 in the fourth season of the five-year contract he signed when he was acquired in a trade with the Texans in March 2022. Watson’s Achilles was torn again in late December when, according to the Browns, he rolled his ankle rehabbing in Florida. Watson is expected to spend the majority of 2025, or perhaps all of it, on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Without Watson to placate, the Browns can get back to the style of offense Stefanski prefers. Rees, 32, was the offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2023 and before that had the same title at Notre Dame from 2020-22. He knows about the pressure that comes with the spotlight of being a high-level offensive coordinator. “Innovation is such a critical element to the offensive game-planning process and Tommy brings that,” Stefanski said. “Our intent is to build a sound and explosive offense that will put points on the board and I’m looking forward to working with Tommy to re-shape the Browns offense in 2025.” Two problems: The Browns don’t have a starting quarterback for 2025 and they are thin at running back after Jerome Ford. They have the second pick in the 2025 draft in April and the first pick in the second round — pick 33 overall. They have a total of nine picks in 2025.