Alabama dropped the bag to get Tommy Rees to Tuscaloosa

Tommy Rees undoubtedly got the bag to switch jobs from Notre Dame to Alabama.

It cost Alabama an arm and a leg to get Tommy Rees to leave his alma mater of Notre Dame.

While the allure of hitching one’s wagon to Nick Saban is a pretty sound idea if you are an up-and-coming college football coach, Rees kind of had it made at his alma mater. He may not have been able to lead the Irish on Saturdays like he did in his playing career for Marcus Freeman reasons, but there are worse places to be than coaching quarterbacks and the offense at one’s alma mater.

Then again, Alabama backed up the BRINKS truck to rip Rees away from South Bend this winter.

He will make $1.9 million in 2023, going up $100,000 each year through the life of the contract.

Rees now makes more than what Georgia paid its former offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Alabama can afford to pay Rees this amount of cash, but he is far from Monken as a coordinator.

Alabama is paying more than Todd Monken money to get Tommy Rees as its OC

Look. This is the price it took to play ball with the big boys this offseason for Alabama. The Crimson Tide have now gone two years without winning a national title. Frankly, they probably have the third-best odds at winning it all in 2023 out of the SEC behind Georgia and division rival LSU. Keep an eye on those Bayou Bengals, baby! The Rees hire was always about the big picture.

Not to say he is a real candidate at this time to replace Nick Saban when the time comes, but bringing in a 30-something to run the offense while the head coach is firmly in his 70s is not a bad idea. Saban can focus on building up his increasingly struggling defense, while Rees has a fantastic opportunity to be the next Lane Kiffin or Steve Sarkisian, but hopefully not the next Bill O’Brien.

Ultimately, people will point the finger at the highly-compensated Rees should the Crimson Tide offense sputter. He is making similar money to one of the most innovative play-callers college football has seen in some time in Monken. No wonder the Baltimore Ravens hired him. Let’s just say the pressure is on Rees big time this year to prove he is worth that fat contract going forward.

This hiring will tell the tale of if the Crimson Tide do win another national title under Saban or not.

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