‘I really liked him’: Falcons OC Tommy Rees approved by former players

INDIANAPOLIS — Long before Aamil Wagner became a team captain and strong-side staple on Notre Dame’s offensive line, he faced a decision between family and prestige. He ultimately found a combination of both.

A four-star recruit and one of the nation’s best offensive tackle prospects in the 2022 class, Wagner was projected to choose Kentucky, where his older brother, Ahmad, played and served as a graduate assistant.

But Aamil found a connection at Notre Dame. He found a coach not much older than Ahmad who poured into him.

He found Tommy Rees.

“T.R. was extremely important,” Wagner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday at the NFL combine. “I think he met you where you were at.

“T.R. wasn’t that far off the age of some of my older brothers, and so a lot of times, it was like getting recruited by someone you know already, who’s close in age.”

Wagner chose the Fighting Irish, and after four years in South Bend, Indiana, he’s on the NFL’s doorstep — close to joining Rees, the Falcons’ first-year offensive coordinator, at the sport’s highest level.

Rees spent four years as a quarterback at Notre Dame but made it only one week on an NFL roster. He was just 23 when he first entered the coaching industry, starting as a graduate assistant in 2015 at Northwestern. Within two years, he returned to his alma mater as quarterbacks coach and, in 2020, added offensive coordinator to his list of responsibilities.

When Wagner committed to the Fighting Irish in the summer of 2021, Rees was only 29.

“It was a really unique experience to be able to connect with him early on, be able to talk with him,” Wagner said. “And I enjoyed every part of it.”

Rees left Notre Dame to join Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama in February 2023, arriving in Tuscaloosa in the midst of winter workouts. He wasted little time influencing others the same way he did with Wagner.

“From the first day he got in, he was building relationships with us,” receiver Malik Benson told the AJC on Friday. “So, just being able to have that good relationship with your offensive coordinator, hanging out with him outside the facility was a good thing.”

Emmanuel Henderson Jr., a receiver who transferred from Alabama to Kansas in 2025, said Rees spent time with players outside meetings. He’d share lengthy conversations and, at the heart of them, wanted to understand the “whys” behind their football journey.

“He got to know us as players and as people,” offensive guard Jaeden Roberts told the AJC on Saturday. “I think he really cared about us as people as well, off the field, too. He cared about our education. I really liked him as a person and as a coach.”

Rees spent only one season at Alabama before joining now-Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski as the Cleveland Browns’ tight ends coach and pass game specialist in 2024, but he delivered solid results in Tuscaloosa.

The Crimson Tide ranked No. 24 nationally in scoring at 34 points per game and No. 59 in total offense with 393.1 yards per game. Quarterback Jalen Milroe finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy race while Alabama won the SEC championship and made the College Football Playoff.

“He was a good play-caller,” Roberts said. “I really liked the way he formationed the plays, got everybody around. I thought he was a really solid coach, really awesome guy to be around. I really liked Tommy as an OC.”

The play-caller

Alabama had five different receivers catch at least 13 passes and six wideouts recorded at least 135 receiving yards. Two of the Crimson Tide’s receivers (Isaiah Bond and Jermaine Burton) made NFL rosters, and three others — Henderson, Benson and Kendrick Law, who transferred to Kentucky — participated in the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday.

Benson said Rees kept Alabama in a lot of “12″ personnel, where one running back and two tight ends were on the field. On those plays, there were only two receivers in the formation, which increased competition in a deep receiving corps. Still, several wideouts found ways to produce.

“Him being able to use all of us, it was really cool,” said Benson, who led Oregon in receiving this past season.

Henderson remembers jet-sweeps and deep passes being prevalent within Rees’ offense. And Henderson, who battled an injury in 2023 and didn’t make a reception during the season, found the system “enjoyable” to play within — in large part because, through Henderson’s lens, Rees put his players in position to succeed.

“He knows how to utilize his players and what to do with them,” Henderson told the AJC. “He knows how to use their skill types.”

Alabama averaged 172.6 rushing yards per game behind a style Roberts described as “old-school ball,” but with modern versatility.

“He did like to beat the ball on the edge, but he also liked to head down the middle,” Roberts said. “Let us do our work and let the running back just make space and hit it for a nice yard.”

Rees took over play-calling duties in Cleveland midway through last season. Working with rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, the Rees-led Browns offense averaged 260.9 yards and 21.7 points over the final nine games.

Stefanski announced in his introductory news conference Jan. 27 that Rees will call plays with the Falcons. Stefanski called Rees an “outstanding football coach,” one who’s young in age, at 33, but rich in offensive wisdom.

“I don’t know if you always measure experience just in years,” Stefanski said. “I think he’s had unbelievable experiences in his young career.”