Nick Saban opens up on age gap with Tommy Rees

Nick Saban acknowledged there’s an age gap with new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, but didn’t seem worried. Heck, Saban even cracked a joke.

Rees, 31, is one of the youngest at his high profile position as OC and a big named institution. Saban, 71, is 40 years older and has the young gun implementing some new schemes.

That’s not a problem for the head coach, who definitely isn’t as old as he feels.

“It’s great,” Saban said at SEC Media Days. “First of all, I still feel like I’m 39 and Tom is great. He’s mature. And he does a great job presenting to the players. He has good relationships with the players, he’s very bright, he understands the game. He’s a very good quarterback coach in terms of helping guys improve at that position, which I think is critical. 

“We don’t have any issues. He’s very respectful of what we want to do and how we want to do it and the guy’s hungry, wants to learn. I think he’s one of the brightest young coaches that I’ve been around for a long time.”

Rees coached at Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman last season. But when he got the call to serve as the new offensive coordinator under Saban, Rees couldn’t say no at that point.

Could it lead to a head coaching gig for him in the future?
Saban’s coaching tree certainly doesn’t lie, which means good things for Rees if he’s successful.

Saban also opened up about the additions of Rees and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and adjustments at SEC Media Days.

“I think the most important thing is probably relationships,” Saban said of new coordinators on staff. “When you’re a coordinator, you’re in a leadership position for the players on that side of the ball. So to have good relationships in terms of how you present, how you motivate, and the player’s trust and respect and the things that you’re trying to implement the things that we do, that they trust and believe that that’s going to help them be successful. So that’s number one.”

Saban and Rees will go hand in hand in one of the bigger question marks for Alabama. With the quarterback battle undecided and the defense already fine, expectedly, in the hands of Saban and Steele, Rees will have to make the offense efficient.

There’s no more Heisman winner Bryce Young back there. It’s a crop of three, mostly unproven, quarterbacks for Alabama.

But Saban and Rees don’t mind meshing ideas and working together, that’s for sure.