Aug. 26, 2010

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald has announced the promotion of veteran recruiting coordinator and NFL scout Bill Rees to the position of Assistant Director of Football Operations, coordinating the Wildcats' day-to-day recruiting efforts.

"We are very excited to have Bill take on this recruiting role within our program," Fitzgerald said. "Bill has been around the game of football as a coach, recruiter and scout for more than 30 years, and that experience will be an invaluable asset for our staff and our football family. More importantly, Bill is tremendous person with a great family."

Rees joined Northwestern's staff in 2009 as the Special Teams Quality Control Assistant after 15 years in the NFL, where he served as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs (1994-97), the Director of College Scouting for the Chicago Bears (1997-2001), the Director of College Scouting (2001-03) and the Director of Player Personnel (2003-04) for the San Francisco 49ers, the Director of Player Personnel/College Scouting for the Cleveland Browns (2004-08) and Director of Pro and College Scouting for the Chiefs (2008-09).

Prior to his stint in the NFL, Rees spent 15 years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for UCLA from 1979-94. He began his career at Northwestern as a graduate assistant in 1976-77 before serving one year as an assistant coach for the Wildcats in 1978.

Rees is a 1976 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University with a bachelor's degree in history. He earned a master's degree in education administration from Northwestern in 1977. Rees and his wife, Susan, have three children: Danny, a senior punter and holder at UCLA; Meghan, a junior at Miami (Ohio); and Tommy, a freshman quarterback at Notre Dame.

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