Nick Saban taking aim Notre Dame Offensive coordinator Tommy Reese as a top target to fill the same roll Alabama, according to multiple reports. Reese is scheduled to meet Saban in Tuscaloosa on Thursday.
Saban is looking for a new playcaller after Bill O’Brien left the program this offseason for the same job with the New England Patriots, but O’Brien isn’t expected to be retained either way. Saban is looking for a fifth offensive coordinator since Lane Kiffin stepped down as FAU coach before the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship.
At 30, Reese will be Saban’s youngest coordinator since Will Muschamp assumed the role. LSUs Reese was the quarterback coach at Notre Dame under former coach Brian Kelly in 2017-19, adding the role of offensive coordinator in 2020. In 2016, he was on the offensive staff for the San Diego Chargers.
The Fighting Irish offense flourished under Reese before the 2022 season, but was hampered by a Week 2 injury to starting quarterback Tyler Buchner. In his other two years under Reese, the Irish averaged at least his six yards per play. Last year, Reese oversaw an offensive shift from Buchner to Drew Pine at quarterback while focusing on a ground-based approach.
News that Reese was being targeted by Saban came just two days after Washington’s offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb. reportedly turned down the job Back to Husky. Grab helped quarterback Michael Hen Penicks Jr. become the nation’s leading passer with 357 yards per game last season.