FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Tommy Rees was very candid in his introductory press conference as the Atlanta Falcons' newest offensive coordinator, noting that prior to his time with the Cleveland Browns, he hadn't experienced many downturns in his coaching roller coaster.
Rees was a play caller for Notre Dame for three seasons and Alabama for one before making the jump to the professional ranks. Notre Dame made a bowl appearance in each of Rees' seasons on staff, including a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2020. At Alabama, the Crimson Tide won an SEC Championship Game and reached the CFP semifinals in Rees' lone year.
He learned a great deal at each stop. At Notre Dame, he and the staff had to navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, he was calling plays for an exceptionally veteran team early on. That group's identity was clear and well established, and Rees simply had to maximize the roster within that framework. At Alabama, the circumstances were somewhat similar in that Rees walked into a room with a well-established coaching staff. This time, however, it was Rees learning a new system — Alabama's system.
"That year for me was about as rewarding a year as I've ever had in football," Rees said in an exclusive interview with AtlantaFalcons.com.
Of course, none of those seasons were easy or a walk in the park. But from a pure wins-and-losses standpoint, they were what many would deem successful. Notre Dame and Alabama won a lot of games during Rees' tenure. In Cleveland, however, wins were harder to come by. That reality shifts the lens through which you view the motivating factors of the game itself.
"Learning through challenges is such a big part of this profession and up until the last couple years didn't have a ton," Rees said honestly. "We were pretty successful at most of my stops beforehand."
As president of football Matt Ryan said in Kevin Stefanski's introductory press conference, sometimes individuals learn more about themselves because of their scars. The challenges the Cleveland Browns experienced during Rees' — and Stefanski's — time with the organization were notable. However, there is something to be said about those experiences.
In fact, according to Rees, there was much he learned and took away from his time with the Browns.
"You learn a lot, especially through some challenges, some good," Rees explained. "You learn a lot about how to balance what maybe you want to do and what you're able to do from an offensive standpoint based on what you've got. You learn a lot about continuing to find ways to put your players in the best position to have success and we were able to string along a couple wins there down the stretch, but obviously had our challenges throughout."
More specifically, though: "I think you learn a new way of kind of adapting to your personnel and figuring out what's going to make them tick and what's going to lead to some success."
Going from calling plays at the college level to doing so in the professional ranks added another layer of learning for Rees. Much of that growth came in preparation, more so than in the act of calling plays itself.
"I think you've got to be so cognizant of personnel on the other side of the ball," Rees said. "There are guys that can ruin your day pretty quickly. So, making sure that your matchups are locked in. There are some small rule differences that you've got to be tied into, which is again, part of the preparation side of it. Once you're in the flow of a game, I would say there's not a ton different when you're actually calling it. It's more in how you prepare and how you put the game plan together."
Rees may be a young play caller in terms of total NFL games called, but he is no longer just the young coordinator climbing the ladder. He's a coach shaped by different systems, different locker rooms and different circumstances — and it's that adaptability he now brings to Atlanta's offense.
