Alabama fans endured two years of Bill O’Brien as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator.
He injected some good moments, including Bryce Young winning a Heisman Trophy, but the Tide did not have a consistent balance in its attack. Alabama could not run the football the way it wanted to. O’Brien’s offense did not produce a 1,000-yard running back, and he returned to the National Football League. Some were skeptical when Nick Saban hired Tommy Rees from Notre Dame to run the offense. People had their eyes on higher-profiled names such as Garrett Riley, Jeff Lebby, Chip Long, Dan Mullen, and others. Rees, 30, has been exactly what Saban needs so far, but fans want to see how he performs this weekend.
RELATED: Alabama OC Tommy Rees talks Tide offensive scheme for this season
Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee State at Bryant-Denny Stadium via SEC Network at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Rees brings a philosophy that meshes with Saban’s physical prowess.
He wants to run the football, establish control at the line of scrimmage, dictate the pace of the game, and create downfield matchups in the passing game. Saban complimented his new play-caller during Thursday’s “Hey Coach” show.
“Tommy (Rees) has done a really, really good job of taking our system and implementing some of his ideas to it,” Saban said. “The running game has improved, in my opinion.”
Rees was Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022.
RELATED: Tommy Rees has Alabama’s offense ‘100 percent behind him’
His system produced a two-time 1,000+ yard rusher (Kyren Williams) and the Fighting Irish had three backs to have 100+ rushing attempts in 2022. He also took quarterback Ian Book and propelled Notre Dame into the College Football Playoff in 2018 and 2020. Rees has more talent at Alabama than he had at Notre Dame. This season should be very exciting for the Crimson Tide.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
