TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tommy Rees has faced pressure to prove himself time and time again throughout his career. He did it twice before at Notre Dame: once as a quarterback who helped the Irish to the 2012 national championship game and then as the team’s quarterbacks coach from 2017-19.
But at 28 years old in 2020, Rees faced the prove-it phase all over again when he was tabbed as the Irish’s offensive coordinator.
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Then-defensive coordinator Clark Lea, now the head coach at Vanderbilt, understood the feeling. Two years prior, he was promoted from linebackers coach to first-time coordinator. The transition from preparing one position to executing a call to developing a holistic, and effective, process for an entire unit is a big jump.
But Lea believed that Rees, one of the youngest coordinators in the country at the time, was ready.
“Tommy, he’s incredibly competitive and incredibly prideful,” Lea said. “What that means is he’s going to take the time necessary to build out his awareness and understanding so that he can execute in his role. There are certain ones of us who kind of carry that (competitiveness and pride) with us 24 hours a day, and that can be a curse just as much as a blessing.”
Defending Rees’ offense was a pain for Lea. Rees’ approach to practice was centered around dominating. Sometimes he made adjustments to practice plans to exploit weaknesses in Lea’s defense. It angered Lea in the moment, but he recognized that it strengthened his defense because his staff had to find those answers eventually.
The two coaches helped Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff in their only year together as coordinators in 2020. Three years later, they’re competitors again in the SEC, and now more than ever, Rees is working to prove himself again.
In February, Rees became Nick Saban’s second-youngest coordinator when he was named Alabama’s offensive leader. Rees was hired despite questions, including some from some who know Rees the best, about the fit.
“That was my reaction too, to be honest,” said Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin, who served as Rees’ offensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 2012-13. “The first thing I said was, ‘Wow.’ There’s no doubt he’s great at what he does but very, very different styles, so I’m interested to see how it plays out.”
The question is legitimate: Why Rees? And what will he bring to the Crimson Tide offense following the likes of Bill O’Brien, Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin? To know Rees’ story, from player to coach, is to know he’s qualified for this role and this season specifically. Pressure and scrutiny will be consistent, but Lea and others close to Rees believe he has the DNA needed to succeed under Saban, and they explained why as Rees closes in on his first season with Alabama.
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“Tommy is not going to back down from any challenge,” Lea said. “I think for as demanding as (Saban) may be, Tommy’s as demanding of himself as anything. He’s more than equipped for that and and has the discipline to thrive in any environment but certainly one where the head coach is prideful and has as high of expectations as he does.”
Understanding QB competitions
Rees’ first year at Alabama coincides with the team’s biggest challenge: replacing No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Bryce Young at quarterback. Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson return from last season, summer transfer Tyler Buchner started under Rees at Notre Dame last season, and true freshmen Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan round out the group.
How Rees will manage the competition is to be determined, but his experience as a player and coach at Notre Dame has prepared him for this exact situation.
Rees enrolled at Notre Dame in spring 2010 as a part of a three-quarterback recruiting class and in a seven-man group. He served as the No. 2 quarterback as a freshman, and when starter Dayne Crist went down with an injury, Rees led the Irish on a four-game winning streak to end the season, including a Sun Bowl victory. But the next two seasons brought adversity, beginning with an 8-5 record in 2011 with Rees as a focal point for the struggles.
“He was kind of the scapegoat in 2011,” Martin said. “We all deserve blame in 2011 for not being very good, but the quarterback gets a lot of the blame, and Tommy got a lot of the blame, so he wasn’t super well-liked in Notre Dame nation.”
Rees was arrested in May of 2012 for misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement and illegal alcohol consumption and was suspended for the season opener, and coach Brian Kelly named redshirt freshman Everett Golson the starter entering preseason camp.
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It was a bitter pill to swallow for Rees, who held a 12-5 record as a starter and didn’t lose the job in a true head-to-head competition. Martin recalls Rees’ urge to leave the program, and few would have blamed him given the circumstances. Ultimately, his commitment to the team prevailed, and how he conducted himself that season earned the respect of his teammates and became one of the reasons why Notre Dame reached the national championship game that season against Alabama.
“He would never complain about it,” said Chris Watt, an assistant offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts, and one of the Irish’s offensive linemen at the time. “Obviously you can be disappointed, but you don’t want to be a cancer to the team if it’s not working out for you. That’s what was so great about him: He always just took his role and did the best with it.”
Rees played in relief of Golson several times in 2012 via poor performance or injury, including wins over Michigan, Pitt, Stanford and a comeback win over Purdue in which Rees took Notre Dame on a two-minute, game-winning drive.
No. 5 Notre Dame traveled to Oklahoma in late October for a top-10 matchup and led 10-6 late in the third quarter when Golson took a hard hit and had to leave the game. Rees entered on a third-and-7 and completed an 11-yard pass to extend the drive. Golson returned and finished the drive with a field goal, en route to a 30-13 win.
It was one play, but it was important.
“(Oklahoma) gave him a specific look, and he checked into a pass play,” former teammate and Notre Dame quarterback Andrew Hendrix said. “It wasn’t a routine look; it was completely abnormal. They were blitzing, he checked (the pass protection) and threw a hitch route to the short side of the field to keep the drive going. That’s quintessentially who he is.”
Rees regained the starting job entering the 2013 season and threw for a career-high 27 touchdowns that season. Martin described Rees’ career as “villain to superhero.”
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“If he would’ve walked away from Notre Dame his career is completely different at this point,” Martin said. “He took the high road, and he did what you would hope people would do, but it’s really hard. That’s the most respect I have for him, how he handled that situation.”
Rees then oversaw more quarterback battles at Notre Dame as a position coach and a coordinator, most recently last season’s shuffle between Buchner and Drew Pyne (now at Arizona State). Regardless of who wins the job, Rees will be able to relate to the players’ position and get the entire quarterback group on one accord.
“Only one guy is going to be out there,” said Ian Book, who was part of Notre Dame’s 2018 quarterback competition. “But it really does help to have four or five guys in a room all supporting one guy. He let us battle, but he did it in the right way, a fair way.”
Elite football IQ
Rees’ father, Bill, has more than 30 years of football coaching experience at the college and professional level, recruiting and scouting for organizations like Notre Dame, UCLA, the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs. He currently serves as the director of player personnel at Wake Forest. Tommy’s older brother, Danny, is a former letterman at UCLA.
Rees’ surroundings afforded him an up-close look at football from various angles. That helped create a persona that’s deeply rooted in football knowledge, which has been his most distinguishing trait.
“Basically everything in his life has been setting up to be an outstanding coach,” Hendrix said. “In between that, certainly he was able to have a lot of success on the football field because he could throw the ball well, but just how he played the game and how he grew up in the game is kind of leading him into being what he is now.”
At Notre Dame, Lea started a summertime tradition in 2019 known as The Breakfast Club, meeting with the younger defensive members on staff at 6 a.m. to analyze how their defense could get better, working through why one coverage scheme worked and another didn’t in an effort to best prepare the team that fall. The defensive coaches included Rees, who answered their questions.
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At that point, Rees was one of the youngest position coaches in the sport as Notre Dames quarterbacks coach. He was hired in that role at age 25 and easily could’ve been validated by rising to that role after just two years as an offensive analyst in college and the NFL. But Rees’ expectations for himself wouldn’t allow it.
And he wouldn’t allow his quarterbacks to be satisfied either.
“He knew that I could be better, play better and he held me to a higher standard,” Book said. “He used to tell me, ‘I know you can go through a practice without a ball hitting the ground, and that’s the standard.’ So when a ball hit the ground, he’d be pissed.”
Book, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, was the quarterback for that 2020 team and a three-year starter for the Irish. Rees didn’t recruit him, but Book refers to Rees as his most influential coach to date. He describes Rees as a good balance between laid back and fiery.
Just as easily as Rees could chew out Book for subpar play at practice, the two could be found upstairs in the Notre Dame practice facility together listening to music and dissecting plays for hours after practice.
“I always felt like he was my friend, especially as I got older,” Book said. “He’s emotional in a good way. He loves the game. He loves the things that the game brings, the ups and the downs. He’s been through it, and he understands the pressures. That’s what you need in a coach, and he’s got some cocky swagger to him a little bit, which I like.”
GO DEEPER
What will Nick Saban’s response be in 2023 and beyond?
Fitting into Alabama’s culture
Rees isn’t changing the foundation of Alabama’s offense. It’s his responsibility to add his imprint on what Saban’s teams have done. The questions about the fit may be legitimate, but Lea sees the traits that make Rees an ideal hire, and those who know Rees well describe him as ultra-competitive and as a grinder, someone who will put in the work to get the job done.
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Book recalled one day at Notre Dame each week as a “grind day” for Rees when he seemingly locked himself in his office and wouldn’t take meetings as he worked. Saban’s assistants have been known to work around the clock, something that shouldn’t be an issue for Rees.
“Tommy’s the kind of guy that doesn’t care how long it takes,” Lea said. “(Doesn’t care) how many hours it takes, none of that matters. He wants to be really good at what he does. I admire that.”
Watt predicts that Rees will devote a considerable amount of attention to the offensive line. When Rees first arrived at Notre Dame as a player, he quickly befriended Watt and the rest of the offensive linemen.
In 2013, Notre Dame allowed the fewest sacks nationally, a byproduct of Rees being able to get the line into the right pre-snap protections, and Watt praised Rees for that. Watt spent two years coaching under Rees at Notre Dame, including last season, and appreciated how much effort went into establishing the offensive front.
“From his perspective, it’s half the offense (in numbers),” Watt said. “I think he tries to see the game, at times through those guys up front. He’s very detail-oriented and wants to make sure nothing’s left unturned. We’d be up working late trying to figure out the best way to attack a team.”
Rees’ rise through the coaching ranks is perhaps equally surprising and not surprising given his story. The next chapter of his journey is just beginning, but early indications are that Rees is energized for the opportunity. That combined with his burning desire to be the best, at least on the surface, figures to mesh well with an Alabama culture that has been built on domination.
“He’s an insane competitor, and he’s extremely confident,” Martin said. “And he doesn’t walk into the room and just start grabbing people by the throat, that’s not who he is on the outside. But that’s who he is on the inside.”
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(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos: Brandon Sumrall, Robin Alam / Getty Images; Sean Gardner / Icon Sportswire)
