Marcus Freeman is the head coach and it’s a new era for Notre Dame football. Former head coach Brian Kelly laid the groundwork despite the questionable way he left the program, but Freeman has an opportunity to build something great. Freeman was tabbed to be the heir once Kelly retired, but this opportunity has come quicker than expected. The question here though is can he be successful and that should be answered soon.
Freeman has already proven one thing as head coach, he can recruit. Until recently, the Irish had the number one recruiting class for 2023 and still has that distinction for 2024. Freeman clearly can identify talent and has done a good job bringing players to the program including five star quarterback C.J. Carr for 2024. Everyone knows that depth is key to building a winning program, but Freeman is also able to recruit top talent meaning his side will be deep. Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football and after seeing what Freeman has done and possibly could do, it makes things even more exciting for the program.
One thing Freeman knows how to coach is the defense and it’s something he excels at. Arguably one of the best acquisitions Kelly made prior to the 2021 season was hiring Freeman to be the defensive coordinator as he proved to be an outstanding coach at University of Cincinnati leading the Bearcats to one of the top defenses in the country during his tenure. While replacing Clark Lea wasn’t an easy task, it was an easy decision to hire Freeman and it was coming off a season where the Irish had one of the best defenses in the country. Freeman is young too, at the age of 36, so to see him in the position he is in now is remarkable. Freeman is an intelligent individual, so it seems his football mind is outstanding and a great choice to replace Kelly.
The question will be whether or not Freeman can cut it as the head coach. It’s unfair to make assumptions, but it’s a fair question. He is young and he is leading a top program as a first year head coach, something absolutely unheard of. That shouldn’t take away from his abilities. The only way it can be answered is to see what he does in game calling and making adjustments. The loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl shouldn’t reflect what type of head coach he will become, Freeman realistically had zero time to prepare especially after Kelly’s sudden departure. So, Irish fans will need to be patient with him as it will be a process and he will make mistakes early on, but Freeman has a great support system around him especially with coaches like Tommy Rees, Al Golden, Al Washington, Chansi Stuckey, and Harry Hiestand all being as good as they are. They should be able to help Freeman be successful
However, to answer that plucky question as to whether he can be a good head coach or not probably could be answered by how Kelly felt about him when Freeman was hired. Clearly Kelly saw that Freeman was a head coach waiting in the wings and that’s a big enough indictment. And with all the recruitment Freeman has been doing, it seems like a very promising era is about to dawn in South Bend. Possible dynasty, anyone?
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