Kalen DeBoer landed the Alabama job as a successor to Nick Saban, who had a legendary run in college football history. The expectation was sky-high, but DeBoer stood out, landing the head coach role. It wasn’t easy to carry Saban’s legacy, as the first season ended without entering the playoffs. But HC DeBoer is having a 7-1 decent run in the second season, keeping the playoff hopes alive. At this stage, Kalen DeBoer’s alternative who competed for the Alabama head coaching role, gave a major career update.

Tommy Rees, who worked as the offensive coordinator for Nick Saban’s final season with Alabama, was named as a top prospect for the Alabama coaching role. However, he wasn’t retained by the program, and after DeBoer landed the job, Rees ended up moving to the NFL with the Browns in 2024. His growth has been rapid since joining the Browns. He joined as pass game specialist and tight ends coach, and became offensive coordinator after the season. He is now the new play-caller for the Browns.

Kevin Stefanski, who did the play-caller role for the Browns, handed off his role to Tommy Rees after the Browns went 2-6. “I have a ton of trust and faith in Tommy,” Stefanski said on Monday. “He’s more than capable, so excited for him. But the bottom line is, we have to just get better collectively. I just felt like Tommy was somebody that I believed in. Obviously hired him here a couple of years back because I really believe in Tommy as a coach, and he’s done everything that we’ve asked, and I just feel like this is the right time.” 

This decision was made after the Browns had the third-lowest scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 15.8 points per game. With this, Rees will be starting his new role against the New York Jets this Sunday, coming after the bye week. Rees is known for developing QBs throughout his coaching career, who became the best assistant coach in college football under Nick Saban.

This is not the first time Stefanski has handed off the play-caller role to the offensive coordinator. Last year, he handed the play-calling role to the then-offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, in a similar situation, where the Browns had a 1-6 record. We need to wait and watch how Rees improves the offensive game for the Browns.

Kalen DeBoer’s Play Caller For the Alabama Crimson Tide

Kalen DeBoer used to call offensive plays in every game he coached from 2000, since his first year as offensive coordinator at Sioux Falls, until 2020, when he made his head coaching debut for Fresno State. For the first season of Alabama, the offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan called offensive plays, but it didn’t end up as expected, finishing the season 9-4.

Ryan Grubb, who worked under DeBoer as the offensive coordinator at both Washington and Fresno State, reunited at the Crimson Tide to make the calls. “There’s more than one really good playcall, almost all the time,” DeBoer said. “It’s more about making sure that you stay out of the bad playcalls. What’s your system for making sure that you can check out of this? The key is: How do you stay on the field?”

This made Sheridan, Alabama’s co-offensive coordinator and coach of the quarterbacks. The successful DeBoer-Grubb duo turned successful, as Alabama goes 7-1 this season, keeping the title run alive. What are your thoughts on Kalen DeBoer’s second season so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.