Will Tommy Rees replace Nick Saban as next Alabama HC? Exploring Tide OC’s coaching record and history

With Nick Saban announcing his retirement earlier today, one of the potential candidates has been his offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. There have been discussions going on about who will take over the program for the 2024 season and beyond as Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele have retired following the Rose Bowl loss in the College Football Playoff semi-finals.

With the candidates rolling in to become the new coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide, could Tommy Rees be the next coach of the program?

Will Tommy Rees replace Nick Saban at Alabama?

When looking at what the Alabama Crimson Tide is going to do at the head coach position, it seems like Tommy Rees is not going to be in the main contention for the position. Looking at how Rees did in his first season with the Crimson Tide, the offense had some struggles as they were 70th in passing (220.4 yards per game), 48th in rushing (172.6 yards per game) and 24th in points (33.9).

While those numbers may feel impressive, with the amount of talent coming through the program that is not what you'd expect out of an Alabama team. In addition, Rees has never been a head coach in his short coaching career so seeing him elevate to one of the top jobs in the nation feels unlikely.

Where has Tommy Rees coached in his career?

Rees does not have an extensive coaching career as he is just 31 years old as of this writing. He played quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2010-13 before signing with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent before being released a week later.

He would go on and begin his coaching career the following season as a graduate assistant for the Northwestern Wildcats in 2015. However, he would immediately make the jump to the National Football League as an assistant coach on the 2016 San Diego Chargers staff for one year.

He returned to his alma mater in 2017 and became the program's quarterback coach for three years. In 2020, he was promoted to the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Fighting Irish. Rees would stay in that position until last season when he accepted the same job on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama.