SOUTH BEND — Everyone gathered in the Irish Athletic Center Monday afternoon was there to see one man. But that one man made sure to make the moment about everyone but himself.
In an indoor practice facility filled with current Notre Dame players, Fighting Irish faithful and a throng of reporters from far and wide, new Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman walked slowly through a tunnel of marching band members playing proudly and cheerleaders cheering excitedly.
He wasn’t alone.
Freeman’s right hand was interlocked with the left of one of his six children. His left gripped the right of one of his other kids. All smiles, he occasionally looked back to get a glimpse of his wife, Joanna, also walking in unison with the Freeman children. Notre Dame team captains Kyle Hamilton, Kyren Williams, Jarrett Patterson, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kurt Hinish and Drew White trailed closely behind.
Freeman seated his family in the first row then walked up a set of stairs and onto a stage. He'd stay there for the next 40 minutes or so. He spoke and answered questions for most of that allotment of time, but he also listened to former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, director of athletics Jack Swarbrick and university president Rev. John I. Jenkins sing their praises of Notre Dame's 30th head football coach.
When that trio finally turned the floor over to Freeman, it was time for him to do the talking. He spoke about the honor it is to be the leader of Notre Dame football, especially as a 35-year-old first-time head coach. He spoke about a “Golden Standard” by which the program will operate.
But above all, he spoke about others.
“It’s special because of the people,” Freeman said. “The people here make this opportunity special. The people that are currently here — the students, the faculty, the countless other people that step on this campus, the people that have come through Notre Dame and have planted themselves throughout the world, the Notre Dame network that at any moment, for any reason, will find you a solution.”
Freeman lauded his players. He thanked Joanna for sticking by his side and mentioned all six of his children by name. He turned to Swarbrick and Jenkins to thank them for the opportunity, telling them he vows to never disappoint them.
Then came the waterworks.
“Dang it,” Freeman said, wiping tears from his eyes.
Those in attendance cheered and applauded, encouraging Freeman to get through the last bit of his opening statement. The Notre Dame network Freeman touched on moments prior was on display again. A solution for any moment, any reason.
When he gathered himself Freeman circled back to the players, most of whom were in the room. The captains. Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan and true freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner. They were all there. And Freeman looked them in the eyes.
“You are my why,” he told them. “You are my motivation. You are the reason I get up every day and work as hard as I can to see you all reach your goals. To see you all set a goal and live out a dream is what gives me my inspiration every day to do what I do.”
Hours before the press conference, Freeman appeared on the Dan Patrick Show. Patrick asked him how he spent last Saturday watching conference championship games. Freeman said he did so in a rather relaxed manner, so Patrick pressed further and asked if he was actively rooting for teams ranked higher than Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff rankings to lose so the Irish could sneak into a top four spot.
Freeman said he wasn't. Especially not in Cincinnati's case.
Had the Bearcats lost to Houston, Notre Dame would likely be a playoff team. Freeman still didn't wish the program he spent four years with as the defensive coordinator before arriving at Notre Dame last January any ill will.
“I couldn't do it,” Freeman said. “Those are kids you love. Those are kids you recruit. Those are kids you grow with.”
Relationships. They matter so much to Freeman, and it’s a major reason why Swarbrick and so many others think he'll thrive as a head coach. Personal connections are vital to Freeman because that's the way it was when he was young.
“Get up early, be on time, love your country, love your community,” Freeman’s father, Michael, told BlueandGold.com after the press conference Monday. “Those are things that we talked about at an early age. That’s what you did. Talk to people and treat people in a way that you would like to be treated. Those are the types of things that we kind of practice in our household.”
Freeman's upbringing has seeped into his coaching philosophy. Players’ coaches come in all shapes and sizes. That term can mean a plethora of different things.
For Freeman, it means tough love.
A lot of the latter of that two-word phrase was on display Monday. Much of the former will be enacted when Freeman is preparing the Irish for their Fiesta Bowl matchup against Oklahoma State. But in a general sense, the combination of both words will define Freeman's Notre Dame tenure.
“That doesn't mean it's all warm and fuzzy,” Freeman said. “They understand the expectation. They understand to achieve anything it's going to be really hard and they're going to be pushed. They're going to be pushed real hard. But they've got a leader and they have leaders around them that care about them and have their best interests at heart.”
That leader doesn't walk alone.
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