When the media announced Wednesday night that Marcus Freeman would be the next head football coach at Notre Dame, it launched an incredible lovefest that generally is an isolated instance among most programs.
Extended football glory is reserved for a chosen few.
For every adoring fan, there generally is a segment that wants to shoot down the move. He’s never been a head coach, he’s…well, that’s about the only criticism you’ll hear about Marcus Freeman in the infancy stage of his regime.
The universal acceptance of the 35-year-old Freeman, who has united a fan base following the abrupt departure of Brian Kelly to LSU, is a phenomenon that has been bubbling over with joy.
Kelly, himself a slam dunk choice 12 years ago this month, was the right man for the job at the time. After seven years of mostly middle-of-the-road finishes, save for a national title run in year three, Kelly adapted, followed through with Jack Swarbrick’s edict to make sweeping changes, and created a program that Freeman is now the beneficiary of.
What a blessing for Freeman to start this journey at one of the most pressure-packed college football programs in America. No overhaul, no rebuilding, no major revamping. Just some tweaking, a full commitment to recruiting from top to bottom, a personal touch added, and then full steam ahead.
There’s now video evidence of the reaction by the Notre Dame players to the news, deftly set up by Director of Football Performance Matt Balis, who was commending the players for their week of work when he introduced Freeman to them as their new head coach.
If you’ve ever had any fond thoughts about Notre Dame football in your life, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the emotion of the Irish squad figuratively and literally embracing their new leader in the locker room.
“I wish I could go back and relive that moment for years to come,” said Freeman during a Notre Dame hockey intermission Friday night in the Compton Family Ice Arena.
“I’ve been wanting to hug them for a long time and this is something that’s been in the making for the past hours. We knew it was coming and I couldn’t be around the guys. That’s what was tough.
“Finally, the chance to be around them as the head coach was an unbelievable feeling that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Shortly after the video of his team’s group embrace, Freeman addressed his team, stressing to one and all – those staying after this season and those leaving – that the next month would be about the present, not the future.
Freeman fought the emotions of the moment to assure his team that the unified front moving forward would have the power and energy to move mountains.
“They’re a special group,” said Freeman of the 2021 squad. “To see where we’ve come from the first week at Florida State to where we are now, we’re an unbelievable football team and we are one of the best football teams in the country.
“We will see what happens after this weekend but to me, no committee, no ranking can really justify how good this team is. I can’t wait to get with them and play one, two, however games they give us an opportunity to play. That’s what I look forward to.”
AND SO IT UNFOLDS
Just as the euphoria of the emotional announcement had reached a fever pitch, now comes a fascinating Saturday of college football with Notre Dame’s postseason fate in the hands of today’s combatants…and Sunday’s voters.
Wins by Georgia over Alabama, Michigan over Iowa, Cincinnati over Houston, and Baylor over Oklahoma State – all very realistic possibilities – could push the Irish into the top four and a playoff berth. Wins by Georgia, Michigan, Houston, and Oklahoma State – also a realistic scenario – likely would do the trick as well.
Will it be a fairytale ending when all is said and done with Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame? That’s to be determined well down the road. How about a continuation of a fairytale beginning by gaining entry into the four-team playoff and winning a national title? It’s all a longshot proposition, but one to consider for the moment.
And yet any kind of post-regular-season success would be a breakthrough for this program. Not since 1993 has Notre Dame won a “major bowl.” Lou Holtz was in his eighth year as head coach of the Irish. Marcus Freeman was seven-years-old.
A victory over Michigan State in the Fiesta Bowl, for example, would be a significant step forward for the program. Anything beyond that would be gravy.
It’s a time to soak it all up because honeymoons are, generally, short-term. As unified as the program/fan base is at this moment, waiting just around the corner is a standard of numbers by which Freeman will be judged.
Notre Dame has won 54 games in five seasons. That’s one victory shy of 11 wins per year. Kelly took Notre Dame into November with zero or one loss seven out of 12 times, meaning they had a shot at the national title.
Freeman enters his regime without a free pass record-wise because there isn’t a significant transition period for this program. They are in the midst of great success, success at a level that has been achieved only under guys like Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz, and Kelly to a large extent…without the national title, of course.
Kelly won 39 in a row over underdogs, 42 straight against unranked opponents, every regular-season game on or after Nov. 1 for four straight seasons, 25 in a row over ACC regular-season foes, and 30 out of 31 in Notre Dame Stadium.
The margin for error for Freeman will be slim. A 10-2 regular season will be considered underachieving.
And yet most of the 2021 team will be back in 2022. The top-five recruiting class awaiting the Dec. 15 early-signing date will come and go with no or virtually no attrition. The present and future are on rock-solid footing.
REAL LIFE WITH MARCUS FREEMAN
Freeman sure looks like a guy who can maintain and build upon the successes of the past five seasons.
A good starting point is embracing Notre Dame. It has a way of embracing head coaches back. Freeman and Notre Dame are currently locked in one, massive group hug.
“I’m all in for Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “I’ve been all-in for Notre Dame the minute I stepped onto this campus. You can’t help but embrace this special place. Notre Dame will change you if you let it and that’s why I’m thrilled to be the head coach at Notre Dame. I know that I’ve been changed in 11 months being the defensive coordinator.”
Freeman knows he’s inherited a vibrant program, one which was deflated Monday when Kelly sprung his southern inclinations – and twang – on us. Players were caught off guard; coaches were in the homes of recruits when they heard the news. Who does that? Why do that?
For about 24 hours, there was doubt, anger, and hurt feelings that enveloped the players, the recruits, and their families.
But then that all changed. Very quickly. There seemed to be momentum for Freeman landing the job. The avalanche of hope burst through Wednesday night, particularly when Swarbrick pulled off the clean sweep by not only landing the head coach of Notre Dame fans’ dreams but keeping the coaching staff intact.
By Friday morning, when the media was informed of the imminent announcement, Marcus Freeman was the man and he was plotting his strategy.
“No. 1, we’re going to have a challenge-everything mentality,” Freeman said. “We’re going to challenge each other. We’re going to challenge the coaches and the coaches are going to challenge the players. That’s where great things are built.
“No. 2, we’re going to become a closer team.
“No. 3 is going to be the competitive spirit that we have. We’re going to be the most competitive team that Notre Dame has ever put on the field. I look forward to seeing this kind of growth. We’re a really good football team and the culture we’re going to continue to enhance is going to be a special thing.”
There’s a permanency to the feel at this moment in Notre Dame football. In some respects, it’s a longshot with a guy who has never run a football program before, let alone a college football monolith like Notre Dame.
In sports, particularly Notre Dame football, there is no such thing as a sure thing. But it all feels right and real. When you put the assets and the concerns on a scale, that scale forcefully slams down in favor of Marcus Freeman.
“I know for the rest of my coaching career, I get a chance to be changed by Notre Dame every single day,” Freeman said. “I’ve been embraced by this place, we love this place, my family loves this place, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”8COMMENTS
One final thought as it relates to fairytale endings. Marcus Freeman was named the Notre Dame head football coach at the age of 35. He’ll turn 36 on Jan. 10, the day two combatants will play for the college football national title.
Now that would be a story.
