Alabama football rumors: Could new hire leave before season even starts?

Nick Saban hired offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to join Alabama football just this offseason, but is there a chance he leaves before a single game?

It was time for a change with Alabama football this offseason and, though the argument could be made that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide waited too long to move on from offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and defensive coordinator Pete Golding, the moves ultimately transpired. And they were replaced by Tommy Rees and Kevin Steele, respectively.

But what if one of the new coordinators in Tuscaloosa skipped town before ever coaching a game on the Alabama football staff? College football insider Bruce Feldman floated that as a possibility.

On Monday night, Northwestern announced that head coach Pat Fitzgerald had been fired after numerous hazing allegations and other allegations of racism within the Wildcats program. Now, entering mid-July, Northwestern has to make a head coaching hire, something they haven’t done in over two decades.

Feldman took a look at possible candidates to replace Fitzgerald as the Wildcats head coach and one of the names that he connected to the program and position was, in fact, Rees.

Alabama football rumors: OC Tommy Rees connected to Northwestern job

Here’s what Feldman said about the possibility of Rees going to Northwestern via The Athletic (subscription required):

"Another Power 5 OC we think will be on Northwestern’s radar is new Bama offensive coordinator Rees, a Chicago native and a guy who got his coaching start as a Wildcats GA in 2015. Rees knows plenty about what it’s like to work in a high academic program, having quarterbacked and then coached at Notre Dame. That would be a big plus. At 31, Rees is still exceptionally young, and his time under Nick Saban only figures to help his career down the road."

For Alabama football fans, there should be some solace in the fact that, at least in Feldman’s estimation, Rees might be better off staying with the Crimson Tide at his age to help further build his resumé before he’s offered a Power-Five head coaching job.

At the same time, though, Northwestern is very much in uncharted territory right now and could be looking for someone who has spent time in high-academic institutions, has seen success in those football programs, and has been involved in good program cultures. In that light, Rees checks all the boxes with his time as the Notre Dame offensive coordinator.

Replacing a Power-Five head coach in July isn’t heavily charted waters, so anyone with a tie to Northwestern or similar jobs could be connected to the job. Rees falls into that bucket, and at least raises some alarms that Alabama could be hunting for a new offensive coordinator less than two months before the start of the 2023 season.

Obviously, that would bring about a whole mess of issues if that took place.

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