Notre Dame hired former Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to the same position on Friday night, giving Brian Kelly the hottest offseason commodity. Here's a look at the media reaction to the news.
Brian Kelly’s first answer to the question he initially didn’t entertain publicly came in his actions a week later.
Asked multiple times after a 31-14 College Football Playoff loss to Alabama about needed tweaks for Notre Dame to get beyond just making the playoff and its habitual spot below the sport’s titans, Kelly bristled. He didn’t want to disclose anything or address any need to.
“We’re going to keep getting here,” he said. “And we’re going to keep banging at it.”
Not seven days afterward, he appears to have already knocked down one door and made a statement.
Notre Dame’s hiring of Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to the same position sure seems to indicate he is thinking with next steps in mind. Thinking the Irish can push a couple more buttons to reach even higher than 43-8 since 2017 and two playoff appearances in three years. Thinking of ways to shrink the chasm between Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and the rest of college football.
Notre Dame has been at the front of the pack among teams chasing those special few, but still seeing the taillights from the same distance. Though snagging Freeman is merely one step of many others necessary before Notre Dame is within reach of them, the way Kelly and the Irish scooped him up is an encouraging first one.
Kelly and Notre Dame's brass targeted a coveted up-and-coming defensive coordinator linked to several major openings and eventually found itself battling 2019 national champion LSU head-to-head for his services. The Tigers paid their 2019 defensive coordinator, Dave Aranda, $2.5 million per year before he left to be a head coach. They gave successor Bo Pelini a three-year, $6.9 million deal and paid him to go away after just one season.
On cue, LSU reportedly was prepared to pay Freeman around $2 million per year. It’s an attractive job that can lead to head-coaching opportunities – Freeman’s ultimate goal. It won’t be short on talent.
Yet Notre Dame won the race. What felt like a brewing Freeman-LSU match late Friday morning ended with a tweet depicting Freeman in blue and gold sent from Notre Dame football’s official account at exactly 6 p.m. ET the same day.
“When you really look at it, this is a pretty significant hire for Notre Dame. There have not been many instances in the recent past where Notre Dame has been able to go against an SEC power for a talented coach and win what we'll assume was a pretty heavy financial battle. I don't want to say Notre Dame 'outbid' for Marcus Freeman, because that's not correct and we'll never know for sure because FOIA laws don't apply to private institutions like Notre Dame. But what we do know is LSU was aggressive in wanting Marcus Freeman, and Notre Dame was able to put on its big boys pants and hang with an SEC power and one of the wealthiest athletic departments in the country.
“For the athletic department at Notre Dame to step up and get the hottest defensive coordinator on the board -- a young guy with midwest ties, terrific recruiter and a great strategist -- it's a really significant moment for Notre Dame and Brian Kelly.
“It was a difficult decision for Marcus Freeman. At LSU, they're going to have more raw talent and access to raw talent on a year-in and year-out basis. There is a seductive quality in the SEC ... It came down to a comfortable geographic footprint, recruiting an area that he's familiar with and done so prolifically in the Midwest."
LSU felt it essentially had secured Marcus Freeman, extending a multi-million dollar, multi-year offer to the rising star defensive coordinator.
With Brian Kelly at the helm, Notre Dame made another charge Friday afternoon to the top choice on the Irish’s list of replacements for Clark Lea. By 6 p.m., the Fighting Irish had named Freeman their new defensive coordinator to replace Lea.
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The chaos sent a surge of hope inside the Fighting Irish football program late Friday afternoon and caused an LSU official to say, “Not as confident as I was earlier today,” before the Tigers were forced back to the drawing board when Freeman officially accepted the offer.
Freeman, per a source in Cincinnati with direct knowledge, had told his Bearcats’ linebackers Friday afternoon that he was departing and had chosen to accept LSU’s offer. Notre Dame sources had told FootballScoop earlier on Friday that the Irish appeared out of the mix to land Freeman, the Broyles Award semifinalist in 2020 after a third-straight season of stellar work atop the Bearcats’ defensive unit.
But Friday afternoon, Notre Dame leaders huddled and made another effort with Freeman, included an improved salary offer over the term of the deal, per sources with knowledge of the developments.
“As we looked into finding someone to run our defense, it was important to find the right fit for our program and Marcus and his family are just that. He has had great success on the field, both running a defense and in his direct work with his linebackers. Additionally, he is considered among the elite recruiters in the coaching ranks.
“The work Marcus has done elevating the programs he has been a part of speaks for itself, but equally as important is the exceptional work he has done in building relationships with his staff and players. Marcus was our top choice to become our next defensive coordinator, and we are pleased he and his family will be joining us at Notre Dame.”
A long day that began with hope that LSU might be signing its next defensive coordinator ended with Notre Dame instead announcing it had hired Marcus Freeman, a highly coveted assistant from Cincinnati.
LSU and coach Ed Orgeron courted Freeman, who flew into Baton Rouge for an interview this week, and, had the hire been made, Orgeron would've signed each of his top choices for the team's biggest staff openings.
Earlier this week, LSU announced the hiring of offensive coordinator Jake Peetz and passing game coordinator DJ Mangas. Peetz agreed to a two-year deal that pays him $1.2 million in the first season, $1.3 million the next, and Mangas agreed to a two-year deal that pays him $400,000 per year, according to term sheets signed by both coaches.
Details for Freeman's contract with Notre Dame have not been released, but the defensive coordinator position at the university has a $5 million endowment from the donation of an alumnus.
The choice between Notre Dame and LSU didn't turn into as much of a bidding war as much as it had to do with proximity to family, a source told The Advocate. Now, Orgeron and his staff will begin again in pursuit of the team's next defensive leader.
