Nick Saban praises Tommy Rees’ additions to offensive playbook

The Alabama football team is continuing to get used to some changes on both sides of the ball during spring football practice, not the least of which is the hiring of Notre Dame‘s Tommy Rees as the program’s new offensive coordinator.

Rees was hand-picked by Nick Saban to replace Bill O’Brien, and the long-time Crimson Tide coach seems to think he’s doing a great job so far.

“Offense was great today,” Saban said shortly after practice. “Tommy does a great job with the players, players like him. He’s taken our system and pretty much using our system that we use, added some things to it.”

That’s been the typical approach for most coordinators Saban has hired during his Alabama tenure. They’re working with a predefined base package and can add some wrinkles.

One way Tommy Rees has beefed up the playbook a little bit? Some new run looks.

“I think the offensive line is doing a good job,” Saban said. “We’ve got a few more multiple in terms of how we can run the ball. Does a really good job with formations and how to use formations to create advantages for us on offense, so I’m really pleased with what we’ve been able to do on that side of the ball and how we’ve developed.”

Tommy Rees arrives at Alabama after spending the last six years at Notre Dame.

He worked for the Fighting Irish from 2017-19 as quarterbacks coach after going undrafted out of Notre Dame following a four-year playing career as a quarterback from 2010-13. Then Rees was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2020, a position he held until he took the Alabama job this offseason.

Before Notre Dame, Rees spent one year as a graduate assistant at Northwestern (2015) and one year as an offensive assistant with the San Diego Chargers (2016).

Saban liked Rees’ track record as a quarterback developer, one of the primary reasons he tapped him for the offensive coordinator role.

“I mean, I think the most important thing is not young, not old,” Nick Saban said of Tommy Rees’ age in relation to the quarterbacks. “Good. Effective. Good teacher, good quarterback coach, can develop quarterbacks, can help them learn and grow within the position and I think that was one of the critical factors in the search for a new coordinator. It was that the the guy would be a really good quarterback coach and has a history of being able to develop quarterbacks. And I think we did that.”

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