[2] His father played college football at Ohio Wesleyan and served as an assistant coach at Northwestern and UCLA.

[4] Rees was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN[5] and Rivals.com,[6] and signed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in July 2009.

[citation needed] After Michigan's comeback in the September 10 rivalry game, the derisive nickname "Turnover Tommy" began to circulate,[8] which stuck with Rees following his performance in 2011,[9] and through his college career.

[13] Rees was suspended by head coach Brian Kelly for the first game of the 2012 season after the junior quarterback was arrested and charged with resisting law enforcement and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor after fleeing from an off-campus party.

Rees entered the game to a cascade of boos yet exited after piloting the game-winning drive, which ended with a winning field goal for Notre Dame.

[21][22] Rees began his coaching career at Northwestern, where he spent one season as an offensive graduate assistant for the 2015 team.

[25] In his first season as offensive coordinator, the Irish finished the 2020 campaign 10–2 with a loss to eventual national champion Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

On February 3, 2023, CBS reported that Rees had reached a deal with Alabama to become the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide.