Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has emerged as a top target for the Alabama football program and head coach Nick Saban to fill the role once held by Bill O'Brien, ESPN senior writer Chris Low wrote in a Thursday tweet.
Tommy Rees “has had discussions” with the Alabama football head coach and is scheduled to be on campus Thursday, Low continued.
Notre Dame's offense gained a total of 2,692 passing yards and 2,456 rushing yards last season. The Fighting Irish played two quarterbacks, sophomore Drew Pyne and sophomore Tyler Buchner, before the team earned a victory in the Gator Bowl over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Buchner, who sat out for four months with a high-grade AC joint injury, threw for 273 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions as the Irish took a 45-38 win over former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said Buchner likely would not take contact before the Gator Bowl.
“There wasn’t one point I lived up the quarterbacks in fall camp,” Freeman said. “You just can’t take that chance of getting our quarterbacks hit and hurt in practice.”
O'Brien joined the Patriots staff for the first time since he took the head coaching job for the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2012. O'Brien shared his excitement to take up a spot with New England in a late-January interview, saying he looked forward to getting back to work with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and doing what was best for the team.
“Having worked here before, having grown up here, just a great opportunity for my family,” O'Brien said. “I'm very excited.
“I've had a lot of different experiences, but at the end of the day, the opportunity to come back here presented itself. It was something I couldn't pass up. Hopefully, maybe I can bring some of those experiences to the table here and help our football team.”
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