Tommy spent a year with the Chargers and a year with Northwestern. You would also think, with his overall background, he has some good football savvy.
After reading and listening to the analytics and other stuff, and having been part of epic offensive failures in big games, you would hope Rees can convince Kelly to open up the playbook a little more, put some gamebreakers into the game, and try to be more creative on offense.
If Kelly tells Rees, "We're going to do what we do, only better," ND won't score 11 points. I don't believe Rees being a young first-year coordinator is the problem so much as Kelly's stubbornness.
You would think the other offensive coaches know football, too (obviously), so I don't know if there's something equal to an intervention in football or whatever, but hopefully the coaches can convince Kelly that the same old/same old will result in a rout.
..players....from lineman to WR to TE to even some RB’s. There may currently only be one former ND QB on a roster but until this season with Hurts and Tua, Bama really has had no great NFL QB’s. At ND, we’ve had some really good lines over the years. This year we have what’s considered one of the best if not the best college line. However, and we’ve all debated this, we never seem to be able to run effectively in big games against much better defenses. I’m certainly not expecting a 300 yard rush day against a top defense but still enough to keep a defense honest. If it’s 2nd and 3, we should be able to pound the defense for a first down. I’m still a believer in having a balanced offense and being able to run more effectively would help the pass game. We go into these big games and we can’t seem to do much. I go back to the one constant and it’s Kelly. If the NFL has not only former ND offensive players on rosters, but solid starters and some pro bowlers yet the success offensively at ND wasn’t the same, it has to be something with Kelly and his system in my opinion. It’s frustrating. Over the last few years where ND has been in these big games, we are averaging probably no more that about 10 points. The other teams offenses seem to be capable of getting into shootouts so something for ND isn’t working.
Merry Christmas to all!
have excelled but non of them played together for a long length of time. Zach Martin was way before Ronnie Stanley and Quentin Nelson. Other than that we have scattered players some starting some second string and only Will Fuller as a skill player who makes a big difference. Claypool started out extremely well but he is slowing a bit now and we will see how it goes for him. I think because of his size he will be very solid as should Boykin. However, Fuller is the only one who can take the top off the defense. Yes, we get a number of lower ranked recruits to the NFL and that is a compliment to Kelly but the difference making players aren't there yet in great numbers like Alabama but we may be getting there. I think Williams, Meyer, and even Tyree have a chance to be difference makers.
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decent job at playing to our strengths most games, but needs to step outside the comfort zone against elite teams.
Also, we just don't have the guys at skill positions that the other playoff teams do, so ours is a far narrower path.
Saying Rees is hamstrung by Kelly is patently absurd because it assumes Rees knows enough about offensive football to be hamstrung by any head football coach. Rees can't challenge/change Kelly's offense system because it is really the only offensive system he knows. His overall lack of experience is appalling for an OC position at a Power 5 conference.
Rees' lack of experience is a major major limiting factor for ND. I think you would be hard pressed to find a less experienced OC in all of Power 5. One year as a trainee and one year in an entry level coaching position outside of the Kelly system is hardly experience worth noting. Kelly picked the low hanging fruit and we are stuck with the same old crap Kelly offense because what Rees knows about offense compared to his peers could be put in a thimble.
In the 1st Clemson game he got lucky as Clemson was down half-a-dozen defensive starters and then he got absolutely schooled by Brent Venables in the 2nd Clemson game. It was far more than Clemson just having good players on defense. Rees' couldn't adjust the offense because he doesn't have the experience to adjust the offense. Look, we didn't lose the game because Rees was the OC but the next game we win because Rees puts in an innovative offensive game plan won't any time soon.
Compare his experience, as one example, to Charlie Weis Jr. who is actually one year younger the Rees but has far better experience. CW Jr. is said to be the youngest OC in D1 but he is only at Florida Atlantic. Just being around his dad, (whatever one thinks of him he has excellent offensive experience) easily matches whatever Rees learned playing qb. He also worked under Saban, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and now he works for Jeff Scott who was OC at Clemson. I'd take CW Jr. in an instant as OC over Rees but we know Kelly isn't going to hire outside his comfort zone unless he has to.
I'm sure Rees has the makings of being an excellent coach someday but he is far underqualified to be the OC at ND and is way too far out over his skies. ND will pay the price in more than just the Clemson game. Blaming poor offensive performance on the talent is incredibly simplistic. The next innovative move Rees makes will be his first. Rees would have been far better served if he left ND and really coached for 3-5 years under someone who has more diverse offensive experience than Brian Kelly before becoming an OC somewhere. Rees will show his stripes next year when he doesn't have a 2.5 year starter in his 5th year playing for him.
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Good coaching can make up for lesser talent. Happens all the time.
But poor coaching can negate talent. That happens all the time too.
Pure and simple, for whatever high qualities Rees possesses he is woefully underqualified and underprepared to be the OC at any team in a Power 5 conference.
Georgia 2017
Miami 2017
Clemson 2018
Georgian 2019
Michigan 2019
And let's not forget the constant struggles the offense had from 2010-2016 under other coordinators.
My best guess is that Rees is far more qualified than you think. He's a real student of the game. This is his sixth year of coaching or analyzing. I would also guess that he studies numerous resources and has conversations with experts outside the program.
I admittedly have no knowledge of how Rees and Kelly work together during planning and games. But with Kelly being the headstrong coach appears to be, my other best guess is Rees is forced to work under certain parameters from which he cannot stray. And while I'm making wild speculations, I'm also guessing we'll see a radically different offensive philosophy vs. Alabama. Not in terms of overhauling the playbook, but in using the more aggressive and creative plays that are already in place.
First of all, Merry Christmas. And let's all hope 2021 is a better year for all of us!
I would never lay these bad losses at the foot on one player or one coach but anyone thinks we are limited by our playing talent, we are even more limited by our offensive coaching talent.
Rees is far less qualified to be the OC at ND that you seem to think. If you actually think being a "real student of the game" trumps actual coaching experience (Rees has 0...that is NONE.. years position coaching experience and a mere two year of any non-player football experience outside of Kelly's system since he stopped playing football), I doubt you've ever been around a college football coaching staff in your life. Who you crappin' here? Again, take a look at Rees' peers in the Power 5 conferences and I'd bet you wouldn't find one guy who has less than 10 years of actual coaching (and analyzing and studying isn't really coaching is it?). Yes, Long didn't far very well but then Kelly thought it was wise to hire a guy with less (and much less) experience than Long? Huh? Kelly hired a minion because that is what he typically does.
There are lots of guys who are "real students of the game" but that doesn't make them qualified to be an OC much less OC at a school that every year aspires to be in the playoffs. Studying football and break down film (Charlie Weis Jr was doing it in high school!) isn't coaching. As a student manager at ND under Ara in the 70's, I helped to self-analyze our own offensive tendencies through the use of a rudimentary computer programming that I was on the team that helped build. I remember sitting down (with others) with Tom Pagna and walking through those readouts. I can't tell you how many post-game film studies I sat through with team break out groups, typically on Monday nights after training table. I can't tell you how many football practices I was at along side coaches listening to their thought process as they noodled different plays. None of that would have made me remotely qualified to be the OC at ND with minimal experience outside of the system I played in as you clearly think it does for Rees. Being a effective and competent coach takes more than reading books, studying film and attending seminars.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not dissing Rees by any means. Like I said, Rees may end up being a very good coach. I'm just dissing that fact that Kelly determined he is qualified at this point in his career to be the OC at ND. Kelly made one of his typical coaching decisions and picked low hanging fruit because that is what Kelly does.
There is no doubt that Rees coaches Kelly's offense. But that is the point. Rees really can't implement other concepts of offense because he has almost no experience in other concepts of offense. The notion that Rees is limited by Kelly is inane. He simply doesn't know enough about coaching college football offense to be able to provide any real innovation and adaptation to a game play to beat good teams. Rees is serving an apprenticeship at a team in the college playoffs. The main reason we are there is because we have a 5th year, 2.5 starter at QB. Any chance we have to beat Alabama, or a fully loaded Clemson team, would take take luck aided by clever and innovative play-calling which Rees doesn't have the experience to provide.
Merry Christmas to you, too!
Brian Kelly has shortcomings. But he has also coordinated offenses for years. Rees' dad also has extensive football coaching experience.
If we were talking about a young OC who played any position other than QB, I would agree with you. If after playing all the football Rees played, combined with having his dad as a longtime resource, and with five years' coaching experience and intelligence, if he isn't qualified to be the OC at ND by now, he's not cut out for coaching.
I'm not saying he's the best OC or that he won't get better through experience. But I also think he's far from unqualified or is in over his head.
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Bill Rees -
The experience is lengthy. Rees’ first job was at Northwestern in 1976-77. He landed on Donahue’s staff at UCLA in 1979 and served through the 1994 season.
From there, it was on to the NFL where he worked for the 49ers, Bears, the 49ers again, the Browns, the Buccaneers and then back to Northwestern before taking a position with Wake Forest in 2015.
Bill Rees is the director of scouting at Notre Dame
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The offensive meltdowns have happened with multiple coordinators. For 11 years we've seen the exact same offensive philosophy of plodding our way towards the end zone featuring a disproportionate share of short, sideways passes to stationary receivers and running the ball up the middle, no matter who the coordinator is. Not to mention leaving dynamic playmakers on the bench year after year because they don't possess all the "traits" or don't "check off all the boxes."
straight vanilla and 1980 tend to come off big games where it looks like we've finally turned the corner and have entered the 21st century on O, or in big time games where we deploy the navy let's try to clock it starting with the first drive.
It's like for whatever reason Kelly can't get his ego out of the way and when things get too good and too much credit starts getting handed to other people he goes straight back to bland, boring and very predictable.
they had the surprise element on defense with all of their starters back, and Lawrence was phenomenal on offense with his difference making running ability. Clemson and Alabama clearly are the most talented teams that we may be able to beat with great execution and a poorer inefficiency by them. Time for some more turnovers and when we have a 50/50 chance to catch a pass that is tough, we have to do it. And apparently Bryan Driskell is not that well respected.
It's a pattern of the offense being completely inept time after time in big games.
you work on the fundamentals and maybe one little tip that you can use to help. Not major stuff, just tweeks after learning from your own mistakes. Kelly is a better coach every year. We are probably currently in the best 6 to 8 teams every year and top 4 this year which gives us a shot. How many guys win the US Open in a year? How many US Opens has Phil Mickelson won and he is pretty darn good.
insists on getting guys that can run and throw, but instead of elite runners and passers, he ends up with good runners and passers, while programs like USC don't care if the QB is as mobile as 60 year old as long as they have a big arm.