The Michigan Wolverines have had some success bringing NFL coaches to Ann Arbor. In recent years, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Macdonald, Jesse Minter, and Wink Martindale, among others, have come from the NFL to coach Michigan. Could the Wolverines be looking at another NFL candidate to fill their head coach vacancy?
According to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, Michigan is showing interest in Cleveland Browns’ OC Tommy Rees. Cabot believes Rees would take the interview if Michigan were to call him, since he interviewed with Penn State prior to it hiring Matt Campbell as the Nittany Lions’ new head coach.
Rees, a former Notre Dame QB, started his coaching career at Northwestern as a graduate assistant in 2015. He moved to Notre Dame to coach its QBs from 2017-19 before becoming the Irish’s OC from 2020-22. Rees became Alabama’s OC in 2023 and then moved to the NFL to coach with the Browns.
In 2023, as the OC of the Tide, Alabama had the 24th-ranked scoring offense and 58th-ranked total offense in the country. Rees’ best season with Notre Dame came in 2022 when the Irish had the 19th-ranked scoring offense, averaging over 35 points per game.
Rees is from Lake Forest (Illinois) and has ties to the Midwest. With coaching at Notre Dame for several years, he would likely have some insight into recruiting for Michigan.
Rees helped recruit guys like CJ Carr and Jeremiyah Love to Notre Dame prior to him leaving the program.
Michigan’s head coach vacancy is left following the firing of Sherrone Moore on Wednesday. The news came after an investigation revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Warde Manuel named Biff Poggi as the interim head coach. But the search for a new Michigan coach is now underway.
Moore led Michigan to a 7-5 season in his first year after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL. The Wolveirnes would go on to beat Alabama in their ReliaQuest Bowl. Then this season, after landing Bryce Underwood, Michigan went on to go 9-3 and is set to play Texas in the Citrus Bowl.
Moore has been with Michigan since 2018. He served as the Tight Ends coach from 2018-2020. He was then promoted as the Offensive Lines coach and Co-Offensive Coordinator from 2021-22. He took over as the sole OC in 2023 and was then named the head coach in 2024.
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