OC and DC replacement discussion

[Tidelines]

I wonder how a Saban interview goes. Do they talk for a while about strategies? Does Saban ask the potential OC's about different game scenarios and how they would do certain plays and certain situations? Just a thought.

Do you know or have an association with Kirby Smart? Do you like Kirby Smart? Do you like the color orange in any form or fashion?

 

[cjhadley]

I wonder how a Saban interview goes. Do they talk for a while about strategies? Does Saban ask the potential OC's about different game scenarios and how they would do certain plays and certain situations? Just a thought.

I bet there is a lot of hand motion and aights.

 

[davefrat]

My guess would be Nussmeier back in 2012 on offense? Kiffin was out of work, Sark came from Falcons and BoB had been let go from the Texans. Pruitt was the DC at Georgia in 2015 with Richt but technically he wasn’t part of Kirby’s staff when Saban hired him. Kirby brought in Mel Tucker as DC.

I have it on pretty good authority from people close to the UGA program that Pruitt was “instrumental” in getting Richt pushed out in 2015 and was working diligently behind the scenes with key boosters get the job for himself. When they went with Kirby, Pruitt knew it was time to go.

Sounds like Fulmer and Majors.

 

[DrollTide]

Now the question is how good is Tommy Rees?

Quoting you, Con, as the earliest use of the word Rees on this forum, according to Mr Google, 24 hours ago. That would include reference to prognosticators like Orr, who, evidently, had no clue as to what is going on inside the program - never so much as a mention.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I spoke to a friend of mine who is as big of a Notre Dame fan as most Bama fans are fanatic about Bama and here's his take on Tommy Rees:

* He WILL BE a head coach one day

* Very smart and well spoken

* Runs both pro set NFL type of stuff and RPO, tempo as well. But it really depends on the strength of the personnel he's working with, they have had some REALLY good TEs over the last several years so the playcalling leaned more toward making sure they were involved. They haven't had the talent at the QB they would like so that impacted the offense a lot.

 

[CB4]

Sounds like Fulmer and Majors.

It was but the only difference was that JP couldn't develop the leverage at UGA that the Knoxville Donut Destroyer did in order to land the UT job.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Here's a list of players drafted in the NFL from Notre Dame since 2018. I'm not going through it with a fine tooth comb but they definitely aren't having a lot of skilled positioned players being drafted in the top three to four rounds, and overall, it appears the majority who are drafted (16 of 27) are OL and defensive players. The 9 offensive skill players that have been drafted aren't anywhere in the same class as the ones we've put in for that same time period, not even close.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Bama has had 49 players drafted between 2018 and 2022 with the following offensive skill players:

WR- Jameson Williams
WR- John Metchie III
RB- Brian Robinson Jr.
WR- Jaylen Waddle
WR- DeVonta Smith
QB- Mac Jones
RB- Najee Harris
QB- Tua Tagovailoa
WR- Henry Ruggs
WR- Jerry Jeudy
QB- Jalen Hurts
RB- Josh Jacobs
TE- Irv Smith
RB- Damien Harris
WR- Calvin Ridley
RB- Bo Scarbrough

Is the offensive talent in the same time period even comparable?

 

[DrJJoyner]

Here's a list of players drafted in the NFL from Notre Dame since 2018. I'm not going through it with a fine tooth comb but they definitely aren't having a lot of skilled positioned players being drafted in the top three to four rounds, and overall, it appears the majority who are drafted (16 of 27) are OL and defensive players. The 9 offensive skill players that have been drafted aren't anywhere in the same class as the ones we've put in for that same time period, not even close.

Yup. By contrast, Alabama has had so many players drafted that it exceeds this board's character count for me to cut and paste.

But looking just at premium picks (Rounds 1-3) we have:

2018:
1 11 11 Minkah Fitzpatrick* S Miami Dolphins
1 13 13 Daron Payne* NT Washington Redskins
1 22 22 Rashaan Evans LB
1 26 26 Calvin Ridley WR Atlanta Falcons
3 29 93 Ronnie Harrison S

2019:
1 3 3 Quinnen Williams* DT New York Jets
1 11 11 Jonah Williams OT Cincinnati Bengals
1 24 24 Josh Jacobs* RB Oakland Raiders
2 18 50 Irv Smith Jr. TE Minnesota Vikings
3 24 87 Damien Harris RB New England Patriots

2020:
1 5 5 Tua Tagovailoa QB Miami Dolphins
1 10 10 Jedrick Wills T Cleveland Browns
1 12 12 Henry Ruggs WR Las Vegas Raiders
1 15 15 Jerry Jeudy WR Denver Broncos
2 4 36 Xavier McKinney S New York Giants
2 19 51 Trevon Diggs* CB Dallas Cowboys
2 24 56 Raekwon Davis DT Miami Dolphins
3 20 84 Terrell Lewisdagger LB Los Angeles Rams
3 23 87 Anfernee Jennings LB New England Patriots

2021:
1 6 6 Jaylen Waddle WR Miami Dolphins
1 9 9 Patrick Surtain II* CB Denver Broncos
1 10 10 DeVonta Smith WR Philadelphia Eagles
1 15 15 Mac Jones* QB New England Patriots
1 17 17 Alex Leatherwood OT Las Vegas Raiders
1 24 24 Najee Harris* RB Pittsburgh Steelers
2 5 37 Landon Dickerson* C Philadelphia Eagles
2 6 38 Christian Barmore DT New England Patriots

2022:
1 7 7 Evan Neal OT New York Giants
1 12 12 Jameson Williams WR Detroit Lions
2 12 44 John Metchie III WR Houston Texans
2 15 47 Phidarian Mathis DT Washington Commanders
3 11 75 Christian Harris LB Houston Texans
3 34 98 Brian Robinson Jr. RB Washington Commanders

It's an absurd disparity. And that's without counting Jalen Hurts!

 

[CB4]

Interesting reading some of the Irish boards. Many saying that Rees told the administration this would not come down to a “financial” decision for him. It was more about the opportunity to grow and develop as a coach (with the eventual goal of being a head coach someday).

Also some talk that CNS did his “homework” on Rees going back to his GA days at Northwestern and offensive analyst days with the Chargers. Basic evaluation was Rees was very sharp and a true student of the game, a good communicator and coach with ability to connect with players.

Much of the same comments @Bamabuzzard posted above.

 

[PA Tide Fan]

I read something this morning about Rees and Saban I wasn't aware of. Apparently in 2019 Saban was trying to get Rees to come to Alabama to be on the staff, perhaps as a QB coach. Brian Kelly was looking for a new OC at that time and wanting to keep Rees at ND Kelly finally offered him the OC job to keep him from getting on a plane and flying to Tuscaloosa to meet with Saban. Before I learned this I thought Saban may be turning to Rees being somewhat desperate after the top 2 candidates turned down offers. Obviously that is not the case now since it appears that for whatever reason Saban has had an eye on Rees for quite some time. It will be difficult for me to accept a guy from ND but I have no choice if I want to continue being a Bama fan, which I do.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I've been reading Notre Dame forums last night and this morning because they know him best like we know BoB.

Their view is a mixed bag.

A lot of them are indifferent to him leaving as an OC, some are glad, and some are upset. Though most that are upset are because of the optics of him leaving his Alma Mater for Bama and the timing of having to replace him in Feb.

They admit he didn't have the best Blue Chip talent at QB and WR but they also fault him for not being a better recruiter and developer of talent.

They credit him with adjusting the Offense for the talent they had and leaning on the running game and passing to the TE's but they also fault him for being slow to adjust in game when his gameplan is not working....which that is a bit worrying.

I'd say they basically see him as a Decent to Good Play caller but below average as a recruiter and TBD as a QB coach.

I don't think this is a Disaster as hire and he would most likely be better than BoB.

But I don't have the warm and fuzzies either. It's a very 'Meh' hire at the moment and nowhere near a Homerun hire. Maybe it's a Double.

He has a higher floor and higher potential ceiling than BoB but we would have to wait and see how it actually plays out.

I'd feel a bit better if the DC search wasn't also 'Meh'.

If you told me our situation would be: OC - Rees DC - Pruitt or Leonhard or Schumann....

I would say : "Okay we can work with that and will be much better off than we were overall"

If you tell me it's gonna be: OC - Rees Co-DCs - Grantham and Armstrong

I would say: "I'm VERY uneasy about that and it could range anywhere from adequate to a disaster."

 

[DrJJoyner]

If you told me our situation would be: OC - Rees DC - Pruitt or Leonhard or Schumann....

I would say : "Okay we can work with that and will be much better off than we were overall"

If you tell me it's gonna be: OC - Rees Co-DCs - Grantham and Armstrong

I would say: "I'm VERY uneasy about that and it could range anywhere from adequate to a disaster."

Grantham would be a huge disappointment, I agree.

 

[Ledsteplin]

Does anyone know Rees' salary at ND? I see amounts from $1.5M up to $2.5M. He apparently got a nice bump not to go to LSU.

 

[tideindc]

I hope Rees becomes great..he’s still young and learning and will have better players . Not sure how we can be certain, based on his body of work , he has a higher floor than BOB, a successful Big Ten and to an extent NFL head coach. This is very much a risky hire in my opinion. …hopefully works out great.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Does anyone know Rees' salary at ND? I see amounts from $1.5M up to $2.5M. He apparently got a nice bump not to go to LSU.

I think because the are a private institution, it will be harder to find info like that

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Does anyone know Rees' salary at ND? I see amounts from $1.5M up to $2.5M. He apparently got a nice bump not to go to LSU.

Nobody knows for sure because ND doesn't have to report salaries.

But digging around it looks like LSU was offering a 400K raise to $1.5 to $2 Million and that ND didn't just match the offer but went over it.

So he probably is making anywhere from around $2 to 2.5 Million already....which seems really high.

 

[cjhadley]

Nobody knows for sure because ND doesn't have to report salaries.

But digging around it looks like LSU was offering a 400K raise to $1.5 to $2 Million and that ND didn't just match the offer but went over it.

So he probably is making anywhere from around $2 to 2.5 Million already....which seems really high.

If he is making that and Alabama will likely give him a raise, there has to be more to the Grubb story than Alabama not wanting to go over the $2 million per year amount.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

If he is making that and Alabama will likely give him a raise, there has to be more to the Grubb story than Alabama not wanting to go over the $2 million per year amount.

I agree. Either he was interviewing just to interview or there was some sort of clash with personalities or maybe an unwillingness to adapt to the 'Alabama Playbook' and it's terminologies and constraints.

Fair enough either way.

But we are looking like we are willing to go over $2 Million.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I agree. Either he was interviewing just to interview or there was some sort of clash with personalities or maybe an unwillingness to adapt to the 'Alabama Playbook' and it's terminologies and constraints.

Fair enough either way.

But we are looking like we are willing to go over $2 Million.

I read something yesterday that Grubb is making $1.5MM, not $2MM.