Browns may lose new coach amid a crazy coaching turnover

Tommy Rees was recently hired, but it won’t matter if the UCLA story is true.

The Cleveland Browns could be affected by a peculiar coaching carousel this offseason. In a short period of time, the following events occurred to create a possibility for tight ends coach Tommy Rees to obtain a head coaching position:

• Boston College HC Jeff Hafley accepted the Green Bay Packers DC job
• Bill O’Brien, hired by The Ohio State University as OC this offseason, accepted the Boston College head coaching position
• UCLA HC Chip Kelly accepted the job to replace O’Brien at Ohio State

The final link led to the Rees-UCLA rumor, but it was also the most stunning of all. To put it simply, a Big 10 head coach resigned to become a Big 10 offensive coordinator.

There are many other details to consider, but UCLA is now looking for a new head coach.

The Bruin Report, behind a paywall, said that the Rees-UCLA connection has gained traction.

With Rees, as with the rest of the wild coaching carousel, it’s already intriguing that an offensive coordinator for two major college teams picked a position coach job in the NFL. Given his roles at Alabama and Notre Dame, he would make a better head coach at a major college program.

The Crimson Tide, or Browns in this scenario, saw a new coach leave shortly after taking the job. Last year, Ryan Grubb was the offensive coordinator at Washington Huskies. He then followed Kallen DeBoer to Alabama before joining the Seattle Seahawks as offensive coordinator two weeks later.

For the time being, the rumors remain just that. On the other hand, O’Brien and Kelly’s new jobs were rumors that persisted for a time before becoming true.

Former Bama OC Tommy Rees to UCLA is gaining traction, via @BruinReport. pic.twitter.com/jsSxDXSwSB

— CFB Recruiting (@RecruitClique) February 11, 2024