Tommy Rees - Offensive Coordinator

[ab2cmiller]

So he was retained or he is being let go?

It's not uncommon to keep coaches from the prior staff, especially when it's due to a retirement and not because the team tanked and HC got fired.

It just goes to show Deboer knows what we know.

Brilliant!

As we have discussed over and over and over in lots of other threads, coaches generally speaking will hire people that they personally know and have positive work experiences with in the past. His OC has been with him since Fresno State. It would've been a shock if he wouldn't have brought him to Bama

If it makes you feel any better, given the two choices that you present, he was let go. You are the king of the internet.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

DeBoer brought his entire offensive staff with him to Alabama, didn't he?

When did "paint my own narrative" become paint by number? Jeez.

 

[Ndaccountant]

He’s a better OC than QB coach.

His ability to develop QBs is subpar. He’s got one (1) QB to the league and that QB was there just long enough to have a cup of coffee.

I don't disagree. But the list of guys who jumped from college OC to NFL OC without already having been a playcaller in the NFL is incredibly small.

 

[mrmcgrail]

Putup with some bad takes on this one

 

[stlnd01]

DeBoer brought his entire offensive staff with him to Alabama, didn't he?

When did "paint my own narrative" become paint by number? Jeez.

I think he retained Saban's running backs coach. Clearly proof that Tommy Rees sucks!

 

[PutuporShutup]

Putup with some bad takes on this one

My take is being muddied due to people twisting things. Here is the simple take i've had since he left. Rees made a mistake leaving for Bama instead of staying at ND. That's the take

yes i know coaches typically bring with them who they like/have worked with, and Rees didn't do terrible and he wasn't ran out. Just wan't the situation for him to stay at Bama after only one year.

Why was it a mistake he left that was obvious then and even more so now, because the ND offense was set up for success better than Bama? I don't think Rees is that good, but he's WAY better than Parker. Rees as OC and ND is probably 11-1 and in the CFP ( I say we lose to Louisville with any OC due to Freeman not having the team prepared at all). If ND had gone to the CFP with Rees as OC, he would be in a much better spot after this last season to go to the NFL or get a HC gig in college. Instead, Bama's offense was absolute crap and was only good when Milroe made something out of nothing. It wasn't an offense that executed very well at all. There isn't a ton of film this year at Bama showing rees developing this offense. Watch the Bama LSU game, it's milroe just running around vs a terrible D.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I think he retained Saban's running backs coach. Clearly proof that Tommy Rees sucks!

So close to entire. He kept one guy and made certain to bring Ryan Grubb with him, which to me has to happen no matter what if I'm Kalen DeBoer and I'm going to Alabama.

I'm not going without the OC that brought me.

 

[ab2cmiller]

So he was retained or he is being let go?

It's not uncommon to keep coaches from the prior staff, especially when it's due to a retirement and not because the team tanked and HC got fired. Bama was in the CFP playoff, you'd think if the coaches are good and a big part of why they made the CFP you'd retain them.

It just goes to show Deboer knows what we know.

Twisting words? So would you like to recant?

 

[stlnd01]

My take is being muddied due to people twisting things. Here is the simple take i've had since he left. Rees made a mistake leaving for Bama instead of staying at ND. That's the take

yes i know coaches typically bring with them who they like/have worked with, and Rees didn't do terrible and he wasn't ran out. Just wan't the situation for him to stay at Bama after only one year.

Why was it a mistake he left that was obvious then and even more so now, because the ND offense was set up for success better than Bama. I don't think Rees is that good, but he's WAY better than Parker. Rees as OC and ND is probably 11-1 and in the CFP ( I say we lose to Louisville with any OC due to Freeman not having the team prepared at all). If ND had gone to the CFP with Rees as OC, he would be in a much better spot after this last season to go to the NFL or get a HC gig.

That is a much more fair and reasonable take than the argument that Deboer "fired" Rees because he "knows what we know" about Rees (which is... what... that Tommy's a pretty good but not perfect offensive coordinator who's been offered a bunch of top jobs over the last few years?)

I agree we win more games last year with Rees at OC than with Parker. I kind of feel bad for Hartman, actually, that he came here to play for Rees and wound up with that shitshow. But I don't know that I'd call what Rees did a "mistake," exactly.

He gave a lot of himself to Notre Dame over many years (benefited from ND too, but that's how this works), put up with a lot of shit from know-it-all fans (some of whom have simply never forgiven him for not being as athletic a QB as they felt we deserved in 2011), and had a chance to try something new and go work for the undisputed best in the business. Then he took a team with a raw-as-hell QB one play from the title game. That's not bad at all. I'm sure some head coach somewhere was impressed. He'll be just fine.

 

[PutuporShutup]

That is a much more fair and reasonable take than the argument that Deboer "fired" Rees because he "knows what we know" about Rees (which is... what... that Tommy's a pretty good but not perfect offensive coordinator who's been offered a bunch of top jobs over the last few years?)

I agree we win more games last year with Rees at OC than with Parker. I kind of feel bad for Hartman, actually, that he came here to play for Rees and wound up with that shitshow. But I don't know that I'd call what Rees did a "mistake," exactly.

He gave a lot of himself to Notre Dame over many years (benefited from ND too, but that's how this works), put up with a lot of shit from know-it-all fans (some of whom have simply never forgiven him for not being as athletic a QB as they felt we deserved in 2011), and had a chance to try something new and go work for the undisputed best in the business. Then he took a team with a raw-as-hell QB one play from the title game. That's not bad at all. I'm sure some head coach somewhere was impressed. He'll be just fine.

The defense actually playing good are the only reason Bama was in the game. Rees had 4 weeks to prepare the offense and they were absolutely terrible in the game (less than 300 yards).

I honestly think he realized he couldn't develop Buchner or Simpson to run the offense he wanted, so they went back to milroe to make something out of nothing a lot. It worked, it wasn't some great development by Rees or great play calls. I honestly think it throws some question marks at Tommy (at least it would for me) that the worst ND offense in 15 years was ran by Rees (and he had full control of offense), and the worst Bama offense in 15 years was ran by Rees (and he had full control of offense). The results aren't pretty for Rees as true offensive coordinator. But like you said, he'll be fine, he's already set for life financially, and he's young enough to learn and improve. I just really think/know he would have learned and improved significantly more at ND with Hartman (who he did a great job getting to ND). Hartman didn't need a ton of development, that would have been a great X's and O's collaboration.

 

[HouseofPain]

That is a much more fair and reasonable take than the argument that Deboer "fired" Rees because he "knows what we know" about Rees (which is... what... that Tommy's a pretty good but not perfect offensive coordinator who's been offered a bunch of top jobs over the last few years?)

I agree we win more games last year with Rees at OC than with Parker. I kind of feel bad for Hartman, actually, that he came here to play for Rees and wound up with that shitshow. But I don't know that I'd call what Rees did a "mistake," exactly.

He gave a lot of himself to Notre Dame over many years (benefited from ND too, but that's how this works), put up with a lot of shit from know-it-all fans (some of whom have simply never forgiven him for not being as athletic a QB as they felt we deserved in 2011), and had a chance to try something new and go work for the undisputed best in the business. Then he took a team with a raw-as-hell QB one play from the title game. That's not bad at all. I'm sure some head coach somewhere was impressed. He'll be just fine.

Some people cannot see the forest from the trees.

Bama had 15 5 star players on its roster. ND had between 0-2 depends on the service.

A team with 15 5 stars playing Bama's schedule should win every game. They could have won nearly game with an eighth grade OC. That raw as hell QB was higher ranked and better than anyone ND has had on their roster in the last decade.

I understand people have loyalty to former ND players and coaches but jeez, put down the Kool Aid and embrace reality.

 

[NDRock]

So close to entire. He kept one guy and made certain to bring Ryan Grubb with him, which to me has to happen no matter what if I'm Kalen DeBoer and I'm going to Alabama.

I'm not going without the OC that brought me.

That’s one thing he better be prepared for. Any success and his coordinators will be gone. That was really the genius of Saban, his ability to keep it rolling while having to make wholesale changes.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

That’s one thing he better be prepared for. Any success and his coordinators will be gone. That was really the genius of Saban, his ability to keep it rolling while having to make wholesale changes.

This sounds like a good Ted Talk for some of the other posters here that don't understand that coaches are not fans and these are all just jobs to them, so they leave and hop around a lot because they don't care about people's feelings.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Some people cannot see the forest from the trees.

Bama had 15 5 star players on its roster. ND had between 0-2 depends on the service.

A team with 15 5 stars playing Bama's schedule should win every game. They could have won nearly game with an eighth grade OC. That raw as hell QB was higher ranked and better than anyone ND has had on their roster in the last decade.

I understand people have loyalty to former ND players and coaches but jeez, put down the Kool Aid and embrace reality.

I guess I didn't have to look very far. That "raw as hell QB was higher ranked and better than anyone ND has had on their roster in the last decade" was 4 QB spots below another great QB in that same class ..... Tyler Buchner. That same QB that was told by a former OC that he shouldn't be a QB and should switch positions.

But yeah, you keep being your fair open minded self. LOL

 

[NDRock]

This sounds like a good Ted Talk for some of the other posters here that don't understand that coaches are not fans and these are all just jobs to them, so they leave and hop around a lot because they don't care about people's feelings.

My daughter’s D2 soccer coach just left for a D1 job. He was very successful and a nice guy and I wish him the best (plus, he gave my kid a scholarship). My daughter (and according to her, most of the girls) is pissed at him because he promised to call all the girls and hasn’t. Not sure there’s ever a great way to leave a team and there are always hard feelings. Just like breaking up with someone. But yes, they are just jobs and these guys have families and egos they have to feed. I told her not to take it personally.

 

[IrishLax]

My daughter’s D2 soccer coach just left for a D1 job. He was very successful and a nice guy and I wish him the best (plus, he gave my kid a scholarship). My daughter (and according to her, most of the girls) is pissed at him because he promised to call all the girls and hasn’t. Not sure there’s ever a great way to leave a team and there are always hard feelings. Just like breaking up with someone. But yes, they are just jobs and these guys have families and egos they have to feed. I told her not to take it personally.

IMO the way to do it is to put out a private statement in writing to the team that says:
1. This was a tough decision but I am doing what is best for me/my family.
2. Thank you for everything.
3. I am always here for you and please reach out any time if you need me for anything.

Anything else is bad. Meeting never goes well. Public statement rarely goes well. Ghosting them does not go well.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

My daughter’s D2 soccer coach just left for a D1 job. He was very successful and a nice guy and I wish him the best (plus, he gave my kid a scholarship). My daughter (and according to her, most of the girls) is pissed at him because he promised to call all the girls and hasn’t. Not sure there’s ever a great way to leave a team and there are always hard feelings. Just like breaking up with someone. But yes, they are just jobs and these guys have families and egos they have to feed. I told her not to take it personally.

When I was a grad assistant, my guy was our DL coach. He was my mentor. I spent hours upon hours with this guy on a daily basis for months. I showed up at the offices the Monday after our I-AA playoff loss and the secretary at the front sees me and says "Oh."

I asked her what was up and she tells me "Coach is gone. He took a job at Pitt."

Here I am 24 years old thinking we're going to dive into recruiting to wrap up the class in February, blah blah blah and the guy who had me under his wing for over a year leaves without a word. Fact is, those two seasons ended up getting a lot of those guys I-A jobs, many of them Power Five gigs.

It was a life changing experience for me to say the least. Years later I met up with him after a game and laughed about how he orphaned me without a word.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

My daughter’s D2 soccer coach just left for a D1 job. He was very successful and a nice guy and I wish him the best (plus, he gave my kid a scholarship). My daughter (and according to her, most of the girls) is pissed at him because he promised to call all the girls and hasn’t. Not sure there’s ever a great way to leave a team and there are always hard feelings. Just like breaking up with someone. But yes, they are just jobs and these guys have families and egos they have to feed. I told her not to take it personally.

I’m sure women’s soccer is a little different, but we are deluding ourselves if we truly believe in big time CFB players aren’t seen as replaceable livestock by almost every coach.

On an 85 man roster, I’d be willing to bet most coaches form a deep bond with probably a dozen. Life isn’t a movie, and coaching is a job.

Nobody would expect an office worker to be close friends with every person on their floor, and give them all a heartfelt, deeply personal goodbye if they took another job.

Social media has made the out even easier: create a cute canned message on Twitter with a background of the university, a facsimile of your signature on the bottom, and move on.


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[NewBrunswickIrish]

Some people cannot see the forest from the trees.

Bama had 15 5 star players on its roster. ND had between 0-2 depends on the service.

A team with 15 5 stars playing Bama's schedule should win every game. They could have won nearly game with an eighth grade OC. That raw as hell QB was higher ranked and better than anyone ND has had on their roster in the last decade.

I understand people have loyalty to former ND players and coaches but jeez, put down the Kool Aid and embrace reality.

So you’re saying that Saban is also trash because he lost 2 games each of the last 3 years with that star studded roster?

Bama better tear down his statue because he only went undefeated twice in his 17 years - what a scrub.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I’m sure women’s soccer is a little different, but we are deluding ourselves if we truly believe in big time CFB players aren’t seen as replaceable livestock by almost every coach.

On an 85 man roster, I’d be willing to bet most coaches form a deep bond with probably a dozen. Life isn’t a movie, and coaching is a job.

Nobody would expect an office worker to be close friends with every person on their floor, and give them all a heartfelt, deeply personal goodbye if they took another job.

Social media has made the out even easier: create a cute canned message on Twitter with a background of the university, a facsimile of your signature on the bottom, and move on.


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I beg your pardon, but I hear they get free room and board. How dare you?

 

[Irish#1]

There's never going to be a situation where a coach leaves and players wish them well. Some will understand it and some will be pissed. You can minimize the situation by how your handle it, but there's no perfect way to do it.

 

[NDRock]

I’m sure women’s soccer is a little different, but we are deluding ourselves if we truly believe in big time CFB players aren’t seen as replaceable livestock by almost every coach.

On an 85 man roster, I’d be willing to bet most coaches form a deep bond with probably a dozen. Life isn’t a movie, and coaching is a job.

Nobody would expect an office worker to be close friends with every person on their floor, and give them all a heartfelt, deeply personal goodbye if they took another job.

Social media has made the out even easier: create a cute canned message on Twitter with a background of the university, a facsimile of your signature on the bottom, and move on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s been pretty eye opening to me, these last 3 years, of the demands student athletes have. As you said, this is D2 women’s soccer, and it’s crazy. I can’t imagine how big time athletics are.

I think my daughter was particularly upset because she’s the only local player (most are out of state or country) and has known the coach since she was a little girl working the sidelines as a ball girl. She’s also mad that she kept playing this year after tearing both labrums (multiple shoulder dislocations) for a guy that bailed. I get it. I guess I’ve just seen it so many times that it’s not surprising.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

It’s been pretty eye opening to me, these last 3 years, of the demands student athletes have. As you said, this is D2 women’s soccer, and it’s crazy. I can’t imagine how big time athletics are.

I think my daughter was particularly upset because she’s the only local player (most are out of state or country) and has known the coach since she was a little girl working the sidelines as a ball girl. She’s also mad that she kept playing this year after tearing both labrums (multiple shoulder dislocations) for a guy that bailed. I get it. I guess I’ve just seen it so many times that it’s not surprising.

My wife was a DI soccer player 25 years ago. The rules were obviously different back then, but she wasn't allowed to get a ride to the airport to fly back home from anyone on staff. I guess the compliance office took things seriously because that was actually a rule: the assistant coach couldn't give her a ride to the airport to fly home.

I used to think the same things as most about how they get free room and board, books, etc. Once you spend time around these Division I athletes you get a different picture than your own personal perception. As an undergrad intern and grad assistant I would talk to these guys and their parents when they came on recruiting visits. The majority of them were playing football up through high school as a means to an end. This was I-AA. We recruited an OT from central Indiana who wanted to get a business degree because he was eventually going to take over his dad's farm. We had kids from Florida who basically saw it as a job because they had to play in order to go to college and earn degrees. Mind you, this was over 20 years ago at the I-AA level, but the experiences are often quite the same then and now. Just name the sport.

Not all of these guys are five and four star dudes even at the I-A level, then and now. The majority experience very little glamour, even with the full scholarships.

 

[PutuporShutup]

Twisting words? So would you like to recant?

Not at all......

Deboer does know that Tommy isn't better than his current OC. That's clear.

 

[ulukinatme]

He’s a better OC than QB coach.

His ability to develop QBs is subpar. He’s got one (1) QB to the league and that QB was there just long enough to have a cup of coffee.

Book is still going, actually. He was picked up by the Chiefs 2 days ago. Technically he's 3rd on the Depth Chart, but he can't play for the Chiefs in the post season. He'll compete for a spot next season.

 

[dublinirish]

if Robinson did go to the Saints then his job at the Rams would be a great career move for Tommy IMO

 

[IrishSteelhead]

if Robinson did go to the Saints then his job at the Rams would be a great career move for Tommy IMO

It would be a great career move.

If it doesn’t work out, maybe he can manage the Twins or run Microsoft.

Snark aside, do we really think he is just going to pick his next job?

The Rams are a premier market franchise (albeit shitty fanbase) that isn’t far removed from winning a Super Bowl. Is that really a feasible option for a first time OC with no NFL experience?


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[greyhammer90]

It would be a great career move.

If it doesn’t work out, maybe he can manage the Twins or run Microsoft.

Snark aside, do we really think he is just going to pick his next job?

The Rams are a premier market franchise (albeit shitty fanbase) that isn’t far removed from winning a Super Bowl. Is that really a feasible option for a first time OC with no NFL experience?


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I assume the primary reason people think he'd have a shot is that McVay loves him.

 

[Grahambo]

I assume the primary reason people think he'd have a shot is that McVay loves him.

He’s also got connections to Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen.

 

[Irish#1]

He’s also got connections to Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen.

Tommy in Indy. I could get into that.