Quenton Nelson Endorses Tommy Rees as Notre Dame’s New OC
The Notre Dame fan base has mixed feelings on Tommy Rees being named offensive coordinator for the Fighting, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Rees was the most polarizing player in the last 25 years for Notre Dame. On Wednesday though, Rees received one gigantic – literally – ringing endorsement from former Irish great Quenton Nelson.
The Notre Dame great turned NFL All-Pro offensive guard had this to say on Twitter this morning.
Great news for Notre Dame. He’s as sharp as they come, has played the game at a high level, and a Coach players are gonna go out and play their ass off for. Congrats Coach Rees, deserved. https://t.co/QUxZRK2qwR
— Quenton Nelson (@BigQ56) January 14, 2020
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Nelson is only two years removed from being on the Notre Dame roster and overlapped with Rees during his first year back with the program as a coach in 2017. He wasn’t the only one to endorse the move, either. Sam Mustipher, another former Notre Dame offensive lineman, took to Twitter after news broke.
Awesome. Excited to see how Coach Rees’ knowledge and passion for the game along with his understanding of the demands that come with playing at ND affects the offense. https://t.co/RTZr8tes5b
— Sam Mustipher II (@smustipher53) January 14, 2020
Their words echo the reported sentiment of the current team, though – they all love Rees and endorse his promotion.
The Tom Rees promotion is interesting for a multitude of reasons. One of them is this is what the players wanted internally. Maybe that’s causation. Maybe it’s coincidence. But it’s significant to the chemistry of this upcoming offseason.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) January 14, 2020
The jury is still on this hire obviously, and only time will tell if Kelly made the right move entrusting the direction of the offense to his former quarterback turned coaching protege. One thing is obvious though, Kelly prioritized the relationship the players had with Rees in the wake of reports that Chip Long was let go because he was unable to connect with the players on a personal level. Long reportedly was not well-liked by the players on the roster, and that is apparently not the case at all with Rees.
Rees’s age will be brought up a lot by critics of the move, but Rees is only a few years younger than LSU’s Joe Brady, who just parlayed one year with the Tigers into a move to the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. Los Angeles Rams head coach, Sean McVay, was also only 31 years old when he was named as a head coach in the NFL and was around the same age as Rees when he was named offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins.
Those who have played while Rees has been on the Notre Dame staff seem to like the hire though. Whether or not that does anything to change the minds of those who were against Rees ever even being a candidate remains to be seen.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
good to see a CEO who is willing to put their job and repetition on the line, sounds like the players will not let him fail, Best of luck Tommy.
K-B-R combo, Max 8 trending to 7. No imagination. We lose Championship game Monday nite, 60-9. Mercy rule invoked.
“Amen amen” I say to y’all. (or something like that) I have always seen Tom-not-Tommy (you’re welcome, Coach) as a mature mind who knows his poop. GoIRISH!
Politicians get endorsements.
Is this how ND football works now….testimonials instead of CVs ?
Please direct all complaints to the Q
Of course it all “remains to be seen”. Exactly!
If you take BK at his word, his search included more experienced/recognized OCs (maybe even Moorhead, Brady).
No use looking back at what could have been until we see what will be.
But no OC can maximize his offense potential without an excellent OL.
As good as Burrow was, his OL was elite, and his skill players will be in the NFL sooner than later.It takes more than an OC to score big against elite teams.
With all but one OL back, and he a journeyman backup, it’s time for this OL to maximize its potential if ND is to finish among the elite. The days of winning without scoring 38+ points are over.
One measure beyond OL development will be how the offense looks versus the better teams on the schedule.
Well relationships are important. If the players didn’t like Chip Long they’re probably not going to put their neck out for him.
My concerns about Rees are more experience related. I don’t give a hoot how old he is (though it’s indirectly related to age I suppose since experienced OC’s are likely to be older). Not sure why anyone would care how old he is otherwise.
“There you go again.”