Tommy Rees - Offensive Coordinator

[stlnd01]

I loved Tommy as a player and love the idea of him as the young offensive genius. I just don’t think he’s really done more than an average job so far, based on results.

I do think he gets harped on more by some as a reaction to those who refuse to criticize him at all (or maybe the reaction goes the other way). Guy is in charge of the QB room and the offense as a whole and is being paid a lot of money to do so. When those areas struggle I don’t think it’s inappropriate to question his decision making.

All fair and true. I think he's been fine but not exceptional as an OC, and as a QB coach he has been a better developer than recruiter, which has its limitations. Criticism is certainly fair, though sometimes I think also overblown by those grinding other axes.

My point was - in response to Du Lac's question - is that Tommy was a lightning rod as a QB (maybe not his effort per se but the notion that our best QB was a weak-armed three-star who looked like a 12-year-old), and he has been a lightning rod as a coach. We all have long-held opinions of the guy in ways we just don't about the other coaches. To me Tommy's a bit like the weather. He is who he is and complaining's not going to change it.

 

[Free Manera]

It comes down to, if you’re critical of Tommy without at least recognizing the limitations he’s working with, regarding OL play and playmakers at WR, then you’re not being completely fair.

On the other side, if you’re blaming all the offensive issues on those position groups without recognizing Tommy’s failures recruiting and developing the QB position, then you’re being hypocritical. IMO.

Play calling and developing game plans, I’ll leave to others to dissect. I just know coaches always seem much smarter when they have better players.

I get this. But as O'Malley and Prister said more eloquently, these are all Tommy problems. If the interior line is getting beat, you need to try something different. If they are taking away the QB run (they were) you need to try something different.

He just made no adjustments at all. Sampson said something like "he called the game as if he was up a touchdown but they were actually losing."

Freeman did say the gameplan was to take the air out of the ball and he limited Tommy to a degree. But at the same time, I'm sure Freeman wanted to win the game. And some of what he said was probably running interference for Tommy. The playcalling in the second half was meant to not get blown out rather than win the game.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Knowles worked Tommy. No other way around it. I still believe Tommy is/can be good. But he isn't as good as Knowles + OSU talent. OSU was better defensively in every way imaginable against NDs O. OSU shutdown all the facets of the ND O gameplan. Tommy called a "safe" game because he was literally cornered. Hamstrung.

NOW, what needs to happen is, Tommy needs to find a way to make sure this never ever happens again. That's the challenge. You can admit the other team was better (they were) but you also don't settle. You have to take that and learn and build. I think Freeman/Rees will. You have to have the talent to match. You have to have scheme to match. ND lost at both of those.

I think ND is going to look awesome against all the teams this year (Clemson is the only other concerning D possibly). But you have to keep getting better. Rees underestimated what Knowles could do with 5 star athletes and it cost him. Now there's film and now he knows what he's got to do to compete at a higher level.

 

[NDMatt91]

It comes down to, if you’re critical of Tommy without at least recognizing the limitations he’s working with, regarding OL play and playmakers at WR, then you’re not being completely fair.

On the other side, if you’re blaming all the offensive issues on those position groups without recognizing Tommy’s failures recruiting and developing the QB position, then you’re being hypocritical. IMO.

Play calling and developing game plans, I’ll leave to others to dissect. I just know coaches always seem much smarter when they have better players.

It’s certainly not his fault that Deal couldn’t recruit/develop WR’s and that the OL play wasn’t great. The talent at WR is pretty average, to be honest, and there is no depth.

My issue with him during the OSU game was his play-calling. Execution is a different matter, as I’m not entirely sure that we have the players necessary to produce against the defenses of the top teams.

Beyond that, I don’t think he’s a particularly great recruiter at the QB position.

I will fully admit that some of my dislike for him is mis-directed. I don’t think he’s qualified to be a OC of a top 5-ish team, but that’s due to Kelly’s laziness and nepotism.

 

[IrishLax]

The film rewatch is littered with this kind of stuff:


Buchner had Styles 1v1 and also likely would've had Mayer up the seam against a single high safety. He gets DRILLED as he is trying to throw because the protection is fucked.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Difference is that Ohio State having a former walk-on get significant reps means he beat out several high level receiving prospects to get to that point.

Salerno is getting reps, because...we literally have nobody else.

Actually the kid got major reps because Njiba-Smith got hurt and didn’t play in the second half. Not sure if there were several high level prospects that he jumped to get in there.

 

[bobbyok1]

I just came across this video on Twitter.

I literally though this was a screen when it was happening in real time. After Buchner ran for his life to get back to the line of scrimmage I thought . . . Oh no, this is bad

P.S. I'd much rather have O-Line issues than O Coordinator issues. We have the O-Line muscle to course correct. O Coordinator is another story.

 

[GATTACA!]

Rees made sense (kinda) as an OC when you had an offensive minded HC that was looking to take on more of a CEO approach. You bring in a bright moldable former QB to slowly take over the duties while being able to lean on the HC to cover his greeness.

Now without Kelly it makes much less sense and it appears we’re stuck with an OC who has basically full autonomy over the offense who’s out of their depth. Plus he’s a below average recruiter. Please McVay save us. We needed an Al Golden on both sides of the ball.

 

[IrishLax]

I literally though this was a screen when it was happening in real time. After Buchner ran for his life to get back to the line of scrimmage I thought . . . Oh no, this is bad

P.S. I'd much rather have O-Line issues than O Coordinator issues. We have the O-Line muscle to course correct. O Coordinator is another story.

I'm concerned that we actually lack the "muscle" on the OL to course correct. Who is the answer for Correll? Pat Coogan? Not sure that works out any better.

Who's the answer for Lugg? That might be easier. Could probably get solid play from one of the younger guys in the RG spot. Schrauth or Spindler probably most game ready, all the other guys might take a year or two.

 

[ColinKSU]

Me, asking Tommy what his identity is as a playcaller:

 

[GATTACA!]

Me, asking Tommy what his identity is as a playcaller:

View attachment 3051424

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I'm concerned that we actually lack the "muscle" on the OL to course correct. Who is the answer for Correll? Pat Coogan? Not sure that works out any better.

Who's the answer for Lugg? That might be easier. Could probably get solid play from one of the younger guys in the RG spot. Schrauth or Spindler probably most game ready, all the other guys might take a year or two.

I hope Patterson at center isn't off the table.

From what I saw, Kristofic actually looked fine at LG. FWIW, he's listed as Lugg's backup at RG on OurLads. Although he didn't get the start, Spindler is listed as Patterson's backup at LG.

I would imagine ND wants to see their original starting lineup play together before making big changes but I would like to take a peek at an interior OL of Spindler-Patterson-Kristofic.

 

[bobbyok1]

I'm concerned that we actually lack the "muscle" on the OL to course correct. Who is the answer for Correll? Pat Coogan? Not sure that works out any better.

Who's the answer for Lugg? That might be easier. Could probably get solid play from one of the younger guys in the RG spot. Schrauth or Spindler probably most game ready, all the other guys might take a year or two.

I suppose I don't know our O lineman well enough to discuss who to swap for who or who to move where. I am basing my take on a simplified understanding of our O-line recruiting as being solid for many years running. I'm a little ignorant on the time it takes to get a guy up to speed in this unit. If it takes a year or two as you said, we could indeed be in trouble if we don't have guys we can swap out.

I suppose most of my hope lies in a softer schedule for a while to get things back on track. Outside of UNC, I am not worried about much until we play Clemson.

If however, our O Coordinator is broken, that won't fix itself until at least 2023 more than likely. I sure hope not.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I don't have any answers but I am tired of the offense being the reason ND is losing these big games. The defense has held elite offenses to well below season yardages and PPG, yet per the usual, the offense can barely muster up 10 points. I'm not calling for Tommy's job, but it should be perfectly reasonable to call out an OC for literally all the reasons people have mentioned.

 

[Irishdrunk]

"Defense wins games, Offense wins Championships"

If you look at the Top Head Coaches most of them come from the Offensive Side of the Ball. The exceptions are Saban and Smart. But even in Saban's case - he realized about 10 years ago that he needed to have a high powered, passing open offense and that having a great defense wasn't enough. Much like the Pros, you win by putting up lots of points on the Board.

ND is in a tough situation and hopefully Freeman will manage through this.

 

[Crazy Balki]

The fact that even the Irish Illustrated guys thought he was bad Saturday tells you all you need to know.

ISD was fairly positive of Tommy in their Power Hour.

I take their opinion far more seriously than II. Especially because Mike generally takes ANY opportunity to be negative towards a coach or position group, and in Tommy's case, he pointed out a lot of the personnel issues that hindered the play calling.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I don't have any answers but I am tired of the offense being the reason ND is losing these big games. The defense has held elite offenses to well below season yardages and PPG, yet per the usual, the offense can barely muster up 10 points. I'm not calling for Tommy's job, but it should be perfectly reasonable to call out an OC for literally all the reasons people have mentioned.

ND's offense is losing us these big games, because ND isn't recruiting the skill positions well enough to compete with the big teams.

You can't expect to put up big-game numbers on offense when you have Matt Salerno taking legit snaps in a big game. You can't expect to win at the LOS when Zeke Correll and Josh Lugg can't even get their assignments right and are consistently physically manhandled.

It's not about the X's and O's, it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's.

 

[ulukinatme]

This offense was unlikely to be explosive this year, at least against top tier talent like tOSU. We knew going into the season we had major issues at WR and probably some lingering issues on OL that Harry could hopefully fix. Tommy's first class consists of 5-6 Sophomores that are currently starting. They're talented, but young and inexperienced for the most part. You're going to see the offense continue to get better going into '23 and '24 when the talent continues to build and get developed.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

ND's offense is losing us these big games, because ND isn't recruiting the skill positions well enough to compete with the big teams.

You can't expect to put up big-game numbers on offense when you have Matt Salerno taking legit snaps in a big game. You can't expect to win at the LOS when Zeke Correll and Josh Lugg can't even get their assignments right and are consistently physically manhandled.

It's not about the X's and O's, it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's.

And who’s partially responsible for the lack of Jimmys and Joes?

 

[Crazy Balki]

I hope Patterson at center isn't off the table.

From what I saw, Kristofic actually looked fine at LG. FWIW, he's listed as Lugg's backup at RG on OurLads. Although he didn't get the start, Spindler is listed as Patterson's backup at LG.

I would imagine ND wants to see their original starting lineup play together before making big changes but I would like to take a peek at an interior OL of Spindler-Patterson-Kristofic.

I don't think ND has the time to wait for Patterson to come back.

Patterson returning doesn't make Correll magically bigger or stronger to the point where he isn't getting manhandled. That doesn't make Lugg any less athletic to handle stunts and shifts, or fix his consistent mental miscues.

I think the obvious move is to bench Lugg for Spindler, and when Patterson is back, you put him back at center and bench Correll. Having Lugg in there for experience is pointless if he's going to make all the mistakes you'd expect from a younger player without the benefit of more talent.

 

[Crazy Balki]

And who’s partially responsible for the lack of Jimmys and Joes?

I'd say the guy who hired those position coaches and refused to get rid of them when they screwed the pooch in recruiting, aka. the Fahhmuly Man.

 

[ulukinatme]

And who’s partially responsible for the lack of Jimmys and Joes?

Tommy's first class is literally comprised of half of the starters on offense right now. They're all Sophomores. Young, but talented. It shows how bad they were recruiting before when Alt and Big Fish are beating out upperclassmen for linemen spots. Freshmen can often get reps at skill positions early, but linemen very rarely should be unless you've screwed up in recruiting.

 

[ColinKSU]

The fact that even the Irish Illustrated guys thought he was bad Saturday tells you all you need to know.

I was in awe of that. The water they’ve carried for years must have gotten too heavy this time.

 

[Islandboi]

What team would be stupid enough to hire Tommy?

I know a lot of you don't hold Reezus in high regard. But from multiple ppl that know. As long with some posters in the know. He seems to be highly regarded by other coaches. It's been posted here b4 that coaches think he's a good coach.

 

[Dale]

I really don’t get the Tommy the play caller criticisms. Freeman, a defensive coach, said he wanted to shorten the game. So marching orders were to be conservative. OSUs punter was fantastic, furthering the game script to be conservative. If someone can show me all the plays that had no explosive component I’ll hang up and listen. But most of the criticisms I’ve read are no points = conservative which really isn’t the case. Did he call a perfect game? Of course not. But I wouldn’t put the playcalling even in the Top 5 of offensive issues.

 

[Dale]

Pure IOL ability/performance and QB/OL blitz identification/pickup were far and away the two biggest issues. It’s not really close.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I'd say the guy who hired those position coaches and refused to get rid of them when they screwed the pooch in recruiting, aka. the Fahhmuly Man.

Don’t disagree that the buck stops at BK but I’m also not gonna stick my head in the sand when it comes to who’s next in the pecking order of culpability. The OC has roster oversight as well.

This doesn’t get into the chicken or egg debate regarding “if you build it, they will come.” Plenty of great OCs have done far more with less talent. If Tommy can show out against top defenses like he did in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl, top recruits will take notice (and it helps that CJ Carr is already in the fold…credit where it’s due).

He can do better. He’s shown it. My problem is it’s never against elite defenses for any sustained period of time. Recruiting holes, bad OL play, poor execution, bad play calling, etc….these can all be true and he’s got his hand in plenty of it. It should be fine for people on this board to be irritated by only scoring 10 points.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Don’t disagree that the buck stops at BK but I’m also not gonna stick my head in the sand when it comes to who’s next in the pecking order of culpability. The OC has roster oversight as well.

This doesn’t get into the chicken or egg debate regarding “if you build it, they will come.” Plenty of great OCs have done far more with less talent. If Tommy can show out against top defenses like he did in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl, top recruits will take notice (and it helps that CJ Carr is already in the fold…credit where it’s due).

He can do better. He’s shown it. My problem is it’s never against elite defenses for any sustained period of time. Recruiting holes, bad OL play, poor execution, bad play calling, etc….these can all be true and he’s got his hand in plenty of it. It should be fine for people on this board to be irritated by only scoring 10 points.

It's not just that the buck stops at BK, it was his decision to hire and retain those two:

Brian Kelly hired Del Alexander, not Tommy.
Brian Kelly hired Jeff Quinn, not Tommy.
Brian Kelly was the one that failed to hold either of them accountable when they failed to land quality recruits at their position.

Keep in mind, this all PREDATES Tommy's promotion to OC. He took over in 2020. So pretty much all the players that Tommy had more involvement with are true sophomores or freshman currently.

By the time Tommy had even close to a full hold of the offensive staff, what was he going to do? Damage was already done. Quinn and Del had already screwed up multiple classes. And if Kelly wasn't going to move on from them after that, why would he listen to the rookie OC?

 

[stlnd01]

I'm taking

It's not just that the buck stops at BK, it was his decision to hire and retain those two:

Brian Kelly hired Del Alexander, not Tommy.
Brian Kelly hired Jeff Quinn, not Tommy.
Brian Kelly was the one that failed to hold either of them accountable when they failed to land quality recruits at their position.

Keep in mind, this all PREDATES Tommy's promotion to OC. He took over in 2020. So pretty much all the players that Tommy had more involvement with are true sophomores or freshman currently.

By the time Tommy had even close to a full hold of the offensive staff, what was he going to do? Damage was already done. Quinn and Del had already screwed up multiple classes. And if Kelly wasn't going to move on from them after that, why would he listen to the rookie OC?

This is a good point. 5/11 starters on offense, and 8/22 in the two-deep, are sophomores. That doesn't even include Estime, who's listed as our third RB. Or Merriweather who everyone thinks will be there soon.

 

[IrishLax]

It's not just that the buck stops at BK, it was his decision to hire and retain those two:

Brian Kelly hired Del Alexander, not Tommy.
Brian Kelly hired Jeff Quinn, not Tommy.
Brian Kelly was the one that failed to hold either of them accountable when they failed to land quality recruits at their position.

Keep in mind, this all PREDATES Tommy's promotion to OC. He took over in 2020. So pretty much all the players that Tommy had more involvement with are true sophomores or freshman currently.

By the time Tommy had even close to a full hold of the offensive staff, what was he going to do? Damage was already done. Quinn and Del had already screwed up multiple classes. And if Kelly wasn't going to move on from them after that, why would he listen to the rookie OC?

Really good post. All the player that people like (Styles, Merriweather, Buchner, the non-trash OL, Estime/Diggs/Price, etc.) were all recruited after Tommy was promoted. Mayer is basically the only stalwart that was recruited pre-Tommy OC.