As you know by now, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] left his post to take the same position on Nick Saban’s staff a week ago. It wasn’t the former Notre Dame quarterback’s first chance to head to the SEC as [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] tried to make Rees his offensive coordinator when taking the LSU job last year.
So a year later, why was Rees willing to get on a plane and head to Tuscaloosa after saying no to the Bayou? Pete Sampson of The Athletic joined the Paul Finebaum Show and discussed exactly that. Sure, money had some to do with it, but as Notre Dame fans know, the freedom to do what he wanted was a factor, too.
“And I think that once the sort of, finances got taken off the board, then it was a question of ‘Well I can go with Brian Kelly and basically be the same coach I’ve been for the last five years at Notre Dame. Just with different colors. Or I can stay at Notre Dame, even though it’s the same place, and do a different job,’” Sampson said on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Tuesday. “Because, suddenly, he had autonomy under a defensive head coach with Marcus Freeman. And I think that Rees really got to flex a little bit last season in some spots.”
Under Kelly, who himself has a background as an offensive coach, Rees didn’t get to really get his hands fully around running the offense.
“When you’re an offensive coordinator for an offensive head coach, you’re sort of — you’re not quite the full coordinator, some times. And I think that Rees got a taste of that last season, under Marcus Freeman. So ultimately that was why he decided to stay. But I think it’s also the reason he decided to leave, the professional development question,” Sampson said.
If Rees truly does want to be coaching in the NFL one day then learning under Nick Saban is a good way to potentially do it. That and the five-star talent his roster will be loaded with that would probably make you and I both look like decent play callers and offensive minds, too.
A big thanks to our colleagues at LSU Tigers Wire for alerting us to the Finebaum-Sampson interview. Check out their work for everything related to LSU athletics.
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