Jack Swarbrick has his guy. And he didn’t have to go far at all to get him.
Before Marcus Freeman ever coached a down with a Notre Dame logo on his chest, there was chatter of eventually naming him a head coach in waiting. That prophecy was never fulfilled, and that’s because it didn’t have to be.
Freeman didn’t have to wait long. Sources confirmed to BlueandGold.com that Swarbrick, Notre Dame’s director of athletics the last 14 years, is expected to elevate Freeman from defensive coordinator to the 32nd head coach in Fighting Irish history in the wake of Brian Kelly leaving the post he held for 12 years in South Bend for the same one at LSU.
Freeman is officially the 32nd head coach in program history. He’s tasked with succeeding Kelly, the winningest coach in program history.
Here’s what the Freeman hire means for Notre Dame.
Much to prove
Generally, hiring first-year head coaches has not worked for Notre Dame. The previous three — Gerry Faust, Bob Davie and Charlie Weis — were all eventually fired. They combined for a 100-78-1 record in their Notre Dame tenures.
Freeman is inheriting as great a situation as any Notre Dame coach who came before him outside of maybe Dan Devine. Only Alabama (62-5) has a better record than Notre Dame (54-8) over the last five seasons. The Irish are still in the running to make the College Football Playoff for the third time in the last four seasons, too.
Those accolades all belonged to Kelly, though. Can Freeman keep the on-field product in tip-top shape? There isn’t much Kelly didn't do besides winning a CFP game and of course a national title. Is Freeman the guy to get those things done? Time will tell. But he’s going to have much to prove considering he has yet to have total control of a college football program.
Kelly was a known commodity when he was hired 12 years ago. He won Division II national championships at Grand Valley State and turned in a perfect 12-0 regular season at Cincinnati in 2009. All that’s known about Freeman as a coach is that he turned Cincinnati into a stout defensive team during his time there as defensive coordinator from 2018-20.
The Notre Dame defense steadily improved during Freeman’s first season as defensive coordinator, but a sample size of 12 games is still considerably small. The bottom line: even with all the optimism surrounding the Freeman hire, he still has much to prove.
Recruiting should stabilize
Devin Moore’s decommitment Tuesday was certainly concerning. But fear that there will be a more profound groundswell of recruiting harm for Notre Dame should be quelled by the elevation of Freeman to head coach status.
Freeman was billed as an elite recruiter at Cincinnati. Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell, who was also considered a candidate for the Notre Dame job, is a solid leader of a program. But Freeman played a huge part in creating what Fickell has enjoyed the last few years.
Notre Dame is well on its way to producing consistent top-10 recruiting classes with Freeman in place. The Irish are currently ranked No. 4 according to Rivals in the class of 2022 team rankings. Many of those commits will choose to sign when the early signing period opens on Dec. 15. The quick promotion of Freeman should allow Notre Dame to stay in the top tier of the rankings.
And as Kelly said in his farewell speech to Notre Dame players Tuesday morning, it’s been the players themselves who have been the backbone of the Irish program over the last five seasons. Kelly, like Fickell, can coach. But the players have to play. If Freeman can coach like Kelly, then Notre Dame should be poised to continue winning a large number of football games. The personnel will almost certainly be there to do so.
A hire that should last
Go revisit the way Freeman talked about Notre Dame over the summer. He had been in South Bend for all of a few months, and it sounded like that’s where he wanted to be for the rest of his career.
“I believe this is the most unique, amazing job in the country,” Freeman said.
And now, it’s all his. Freeman is 35. He likely didn’t envision he’d be handed the keys to the Lamborghini this quickly. Kelly hired Freeman when he was a youthful 59. Now he’s 60, and he’s the head coach at LSU. A door opened for Freeman far sooner than he could’ve ever imagined.
Barring lack of results on the field, Freeman likely isn’t going anywhere. He’s nowhere close to being in a position Kelly was this past season. Kelly has been a college coach for over three decades. Freeman has barely been alive for that long.
Freeman has reached a milestone (becoming the head coach at Notre Dame) it took Kelly 27 years to arrive at. Freeman is primed to hold onto the position for however long he’s able to produce the types of seasons Kelly churned out.
That said, Kelly tied Knute Rockne for the longest all-time tenure among Notre Dame head coaches. Nobody but Rockne and Kelly have coached the Irish for 12 seasons. Not many, if any, have acquired the job at Freeman’s age, though.
This Lamborghini isn’t one Freeman intends to trade in for a long, long time.
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