Sources: Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees Turns Down Opportunity at LSU

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has decided to stay in South Bend instead of moving to LSU with former head coach Brian Kelly, sources told Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger.

"I love you guys. I love this place," Rees told the Fighting Irish in a video of a team meeting posted by the school. "I believe that we can win a national championship here, and I'm committed to doing everything we can to get to that point.

"This is where my heart is, and my heart is with you guys."

The Athletic's Matt Fortuna was the first to report the news. Per The Advocate's Leah Vann, the Tigers' offer to Rees was $400,000 higher compared to the Fighting Irish's.

The 29-year-old is a former Notre Dame quarterback, playing in South Bend from 2010-13 before briefly playing for the Washington Football Team in the NFL. He led the Fighting Irish to an 8–4 season during the 2011 season, passing for 2,869 yards and 20 touchdowns.

During the 2012 campaign, Rees started in two games before being arrested for resisting law enforcement and illegal consumption of alcohol. Per ESPN, he ended up only charged with four misdemeanors: minor consumption, two counts of resisting law enforcement and battery.

Rees spent time as an offensive graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2015 before moving on to the San Diego Chargers as an offensive assistant. He returned to South Bend in 2017 as the quarterbacks coach, then was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2020.

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