Notre Dame adds familiar face — if not name — to staff in QB coach 'Tom' Rees

Notre Dame football’s official Twitter account said it all Tuesday:

Tommy, Tom, whatever you want to call him — whatever happened to Thomas? — is now one of the nation’s fastest-rising coaches, embarking on a remarkable rise through the industry’s ranks after departing Notre Dame just over three years ago.

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Rees, the consummate pro during his four-year Fighting Irish career, is only 24 years old, having served as a graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2015 and as an offensive assistant with the San Diego Chargers this past season.

“When I finished my playing career and graduated from Notre Dame, I wanted to do two things,” Rees said in a release. “First, I wanted to coach, and second, at some point in my career I hoped to get an opportunity to return and do it at my alma mater. I didn’t know when or if this opportunity might present itself, but I’m so grateful and honored that it did. I’m ready to get things rolling with this great staff and group of student-athletes.”

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Rees was born to be a coach. He openly spoke about the profession during his playing days, and his father, Bill, is a longtime college and NFL coach and scout who is currently Wake Forest’s director of player personnel.

Rees, who began his college career during head coach Brian Kelly’s first season at Notre Dame, in 2010, became the Irish’s emergency starting quarterback as a true freshman when Dayne Crist suffered a leg injury, then supplanted Crist for the season in Week 1 of the following year. He made a number of crucial plays in relief of Everett Golson the following season, which ended in the BCS title game, and when Golson was suspended for the 2013 campaign, there Rees was again, stepping into the spotlight without even flinching as the Irish went 9-4.

There is no one who knows Kelly and his offense the way Rees does. He can translate the coach’s orders in a digestible manner for his pupils. Heck, a number of current Irish players were teammates of Rees during his final season in 2013, most notably returning captain Mike McGlinchey.

In what is shaping up to be a make-or-break season for Kelly in Year 8 in South Bend, the addition of a familiar face — whether he goes by Tom or Tommy — makes too much sense.