Thomas Kevin Rees (born May 22, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player, who is the current offensive coordinator of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2013.

Early years

Rees was born to Bill and Susan (née Cantwell) Rees in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and grew up in

Lake Bluff, Illinois Lake Bluff is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,616. History The first settler family to claim land within the area now part of Lake Bluff arrived in 1836. They claimed 100 acres of ...

. His father played college football at

Ohio Wesleyan Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Central Ohio residents as a nonsec ...

and served as an assistant coach at Northwestern and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Tommy played football at Lake Forest High School. As a senior in 2009, he completed 215 of 308 passes for 2,572 yards and 23 touchdowns while only throwing 3 interceptions the entire season. Rees had several explosive games including a 526-yard, six-touchdown performance against

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. His brother Danny Rees played football at UCLA. Rees was rated a three-star recruit by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, and signed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in July 2009.

College career

2010 season

As a freshman at Notre Dame, Rees saw limited action in games against

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, before being forced into action early against

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

when starting quarterback

Dayne Crist Dayne Lawrence Crist (born October 9, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Notre Dame before transferring to the University of Kansas. Early years Crist attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, ...

ruptured his

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when ...

. Rees finished the game with 334 yards and four touchdown passes, but threw a costly interception in the waning minutes of the game which sealed the victory for the Golden Hurricane. Rees led the Irish to victories in his first four starts at quarterback, including upsets of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, culminating in a 33–17 victory over

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

. He finished the season with 1106 yards passing, 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

2011 season

In the 2011 season, Rees passed for 2,869 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Notre Dame went 8–4 in the regular season with a bowl loss. Andrew Hendrix and

Everett Golson Everett Demone Golson (born January 2, 1993) is a former American football quarterback. He previously played quarterback for Notre Dame from 2011 to the spring of 2015. Golson chose to transfer to Florida State after graduating from Notre Dame. ...

competed with Rees for the starting QB position in the 2012 season. After Michigan's comeback in the September 10

rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both ...

, the derisive nickname "Turnover Tommy" began to circulate, which stuck with Rees following his performance in 2011, and through his college career. Despite this reputation, Rees would finish the season with a completion percentage of 65.5%, a second to the Irish record of 68%, held by

Jimmy Clausen James Richard Clausen (born September 21, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 2010 to 2015. He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in t ...

. Rees' 14 interceptions this season was a tie for 11th in the FBS.

2012 season

Rees was suspended by head coach Brian Kelly for the first game of the 2012 season after the junior quarterback was arrested and charged with resisting law enforcement and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor after fleeing from an off-campus party. Everett Golson was named the starter for the opening game against

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

. Golson played most of the second game of the 2012 season against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

but was injured leading Rees to come in. Rees entered the game to a cascade of boos yet exited after piloting the game-winning drive, which ended in a winning field goal for Notre Dame. However, after the game, Coach Brian Kelly indicated that the team was staying with their initial starter, Golson, for the third game of the 2012 season at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. Rees would go on to start two games that year as Notre Dame made the BCS title game.

2013 season

On June 5, 2013, it was announced Rees would start at quarterback for the 2013 season.

Career statistics

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, Rees was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

on May 10, 2014. He was released by the team on May 17.

Coaching career

Rees began his coaching career at Northwestern, where he spent one season as an offensive graduate assistant for the 2015 team. On February 9, 2016, Rees joined the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

coaching staff as an offensive assistant. In January 2017, Rees returned to Notre Dame to be the quarterbacks coach. On January 14, 2020, Rees was officially promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing

Chip Long Chip Long (born May 1, 1983) is an American football coach, who is currently an assistant at Louisville. He previously was the offensive coordinator for Tulane University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Memphis and Georgia Te ...

. In his first season as offensive coordinator, the Irish finished the 2020 campaign 10–2 with a loss to eventual national champion

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...

semifina

On February 3, 2023, CBS reported that Rees had reached a deal with

to become the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide.

Personal life

Rees' father, Bill, works for the University of Notre Dame. His mother's name is Susan. He has an older brother, Danny, who played football at UCLA and a sister named Meghan.

References

External links

Notre Dame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Tommy 1992 births Living people American football quarterbacks Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players San Diego Chargers coaches Washington Redskins players People from Lake Bluff, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Los Angeles Sports coaches from Los Angeles