OT: Marcus Freeman Hired as HC at Notre Dame
Title says it all. Personally surprised they didn't wait on Fickell.
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— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 3, 2021
Please join us in welcoming @Marcus_Freeman1 as the 30th head coach of Notre Dame Football!#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/PVaPuPhukp
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:13 AM ^
I hadn't heard of him either, but when I texted my ND friend about the Kelly news to make sure he was in a safe space, he said that Freeman was being groomed to eventually take over the HC job (he also hadn't heard the Kelly news, but was like 'meh, whatever'
I think most of us outside of the ND space would've shot our shot for Fickell and it's what I expected but apparently, by all accounts, people within the ND program really really love Freeman and he should have 100% buy-in from the start, though of course he'll have to prove it from on the field.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
From what I've read elsewhere, the rehire of Tommy Rees--who will reportedly obtain more autonomy over offense--helped secure the Freeman hire. A number of the coaches are apparently staying, despite Kelly's attempt to lure them to Baton Rouge. Might be keys to a certain continuity, eventual success at ND, might or might not impact Kelly's eventual success.
Personally, I'll be happy if Kelly fails. I will now quietly root for Freeman, except when his success threatens Michigan's. At that point it will always be to hell with Notre Dame.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:21 AM ^
ND success is ALWAYS impact Michigan. We share too large of a recruiting base. The last four words should always be the answer.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
My recollection is that Kelly's tenure was saved by a comprehensive staff upgrade, and if that staff remains a key reason why ND was successful, it doesn't seem unreasonable to give continuity a shot, especially since it already worked to get ND to the level they're on right now.
ND folks seem remarkably sanguine about all this, which might tell us something.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
pretty sure freeman was an LB for ohio (YTO), so that rooting might not have much gusto.
December 3rd, 2021 at 1:13 PM ^
He was. And this hiring avoids the darkest timeline, where ND hired somebody like Campbell and Freeman went back to work for Day and fix the OSU defense.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
For me it's to hell with Notre Dame always, and forever. No exceptions. I hate ND and all their Rod & Todd Flandersy fans. Fuck their hype and dumb mythology and stupid ass independence / ("what about ND for the playoff") and figuring out how to watch Peacock. Assholes.
December 3rd, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^
This a great photo but it fails without Gerry Jaust. Unless I missed it.
December 3rd, 2021 at 2:49 PM ^
Before my time, so the schadenfreude isn't there, but that must have been fun to watch
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:24 AM ^
Yeah, apparently the current players and recruits love him. Short term, it probably means they avoid the kind of mass transfer and recruit exodus we're seeing at Oklahoma.
We'll see how he does longer term. Obviously more of a risk than a guy that's a proven HC like Fickell or Campbell.
Interesting how quickly LSU, USC, UF and ND got filled. OU the only marquee job left still open.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
Early signing period is a game-changer. Even ND, which publicly said that they'd wait until after the postseason if they had to, pulled the trigger quickly.
Not sure if it makes a difference to them, but didn't I hear that Bob Stoops is recruiting for Oklahoma right now? That does tell us what a big deal closing on the early signing period class is, and also might help explain why Oklahoma feels it has the luxury of waiting, assuming that they've written off some of the Riley recruits that have bolted.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
When I texted my ND friend about the Kelly rumor, his first response was "hopefully they'll hire Freeman." He seems not at all disappointed in how things went down.
December 3rd, 2021 at 2:10 PM ^
Look, if Ryan Day keeps giving off Mark Helfrich vibes to everyone, Fickell might get the big prize he really wants more than anything.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:14 AM ^
Probably an upgrade in the long run.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Agreed. Dude is 35, is an ace recruiter, has fielded some really strong defenses, and is from Ohio. Plus his current players love him.
December 3rd, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
For such a young guy, ND better hope this is a destination job. That isn't the case these days anymore.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
ND has gone 10-3, 12-1, 11-2, 10-2 and 11-1 the last five years. You think Freeman's going to outperform that?
Freeman is probably an upgrade as a human being, though.
December 3rd, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
That record is excellent and highly doubt Freeman comes anywhere near that run. Freeman's getting the enthusiasm uptick of being a popular hire. But my guess is that the lack of HC experience comes back to bite ND bigtime. Yeah, I know, Dabo, Riley, Day......but those are the exceptions. Most assistants that are promoted to HC - at major powers - go through a learning curve.
December 3rd, 2021 at 12:52 PM ^
Are they the exceptions though?
Worked well: Dabo, Riley, Day, Fisher, Stoops, Smart, Richt, Carr
Worked poorly: Davie, Weiss, Muschamp and?
December 3rd, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
Not good: Sark, Tom Herman, Moorhead to name a few
December 3rd, 2021 at 3:33 PM ^
Bobby Williams
December 3rd, 2021 at 5:26 PM ^
But, Clem(p)son fans wanted to run Dabo off campus after the first few years. Remember the term Dabo-ing? Took a while for him to build his Death Star. We think of him today as he has been recently, not as he started.
Which further proves your point.
December 3rd, 2021 at 6:06 PM ^
There's no evidence that hiring an older more established coach works out better than hiring the young guy. Most of the truly great game changer coaches were dudes in their 30s with light backgrounds before they got hired.
Nick Saban to Alabama, Urban to Ohio State and Lou Holtz to Notre Dame are the rare result of Big School Hires Well Established Name. Usually, you end up paying for past results and sub par performance because the older guy's best years were behind him.
Barry Switzer, Tom Osborne, Steve Spurrier, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis...usually you want the young hungry guy who is either coming off an assistant job at a similar blue blood/internal or the young guy from a smaller program who has something to prove.
December 3rd, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
Record wise, probably not. But if he gets a team into the CFP they might actually compete in a game for a change
December 3rd, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
He's never been a head coach before, but you think he's going to outscheme Saban or Dabo if they meet up?
Is Saban's kryptonite a guy half his age with no experience? I'd tend to doubt it.
Freeman may have been the best realistic option for them, but I'll be pretty surprised if he can win more than his predecessor. But his program might have fewer negligent death/rape/academic fraud scandals.
December 3rd, 2021 at 7:54 PM ^
It is far more likely that the guy who de-thrones Saban is a guy not currently head coach anywhere than it is that, say Brian Kelly is going to suddenly become a better coach at 60 than he was 10 years ago when Saban was booting his teeth out just because LSU lets you cheat more.
You know how I know that? The two guys who have done the best job against Saban are 1) Dabo, a former WR coach whose schemes are rudimentary and bland and never even coordinated prior to being head coach and 2) Kirby Smart, who was Saban's right hand assistant but had zero head coaching experience before the Georgia job and has turned Georgia into a recruiting death star.
All the guys with shiny long resumes prior to their current job have done jack shit
December 3rd, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
Hell, with the likelihood we are going to 12 teams in the CFP, it should make it easier going forward for any good team to make the playoffs. Michigan, for example, could still make a 12 team playoff this year even if they lost to Iowa. Possibly would even make the top 8.
December 3rd, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
It’s a low bar to be a better human than Crawfish Kelly
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:15 AM ^
Hiring a first timer to be head coach sounds a little desperate to save a recruiting class. Over and under is 3 years.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:25 AM ^
I’ll take the over. I think this will prove out well for ND. Good chance he can continue the momentum built by Kelly over the past few years. Good roster and recruiting class will allow him to learn on the job a bit.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
Their schedule will help with that. The only speed bumps now will be Riley at USC and there once every few years game against Clemson.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
Agree. There are a dozen teams that would have as good or better record than ND with ND's schedule. They're soft and they prove it with frequency.
December 3rd, 2021 at 1:03 PM ^
2022 might not be that much of a beginner's cakewalk. They have Ohio State, Clemson & USC on the schedule.
December 3rd, 2021 at 1:48 PM ^
ND had a weak schedule this year, but next year they have:
@ Ohio State to open the season
@ UNC
vs. BYU (in Las Vegas)
vs. Clemson
@ USC
That's a pretty tough schedule depending on how some of those teams turn over.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:04 AM ^
Or it turns out like Jimmy Lake. Top DC with no HC experience. Heir apparent to the current HC. Recruits all love him. Flames out in 2 years.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley would like a word...
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
As well as some guy named Dabo
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:10 AM ^
Along with Bob Stoops and Kirby Smart
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
And Gary Moeller (I get he was fired after 3 years, but not for performance reasons), and Lloyd Carr.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
Gary Moeller was Head Coach of Illinois from 77-79 amassing a record of 6-24-3.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
Alas, he was NOT a HC before his Illinois gig, though...
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
Mo was HC here for five years (1990-94).
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:47 AM ^
I was going off memory. It was just to point out that he didn’t last long but it wasn’t for performance reasons. It’s an insignificant detail.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:50 AM ^
Not only that, dude is young. 35 and HC of ND.
December 3rd, 2021 at 9:56 AM ^
Lincoln Riley was 33.
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:24 AM ^
It wasn't just to save a recruiting class, he's been a great coach. Of course its a risk but every coaching hire is a risk, the ND hope is he is Ryan Day or Lincoln Riley
December 3rd, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
I totally agree, risky. ND has no idea how he will handle the duties of HC which are far different than coordinator or just an assistant. Freeman may be a great coach, but can he handle everything else that comes with being the Head man. Time will tell I guess. I kind of equate with Mel Pearson, let him go to Tech to prove he can handle it, then bring him back. Fickell would have been a better/safer choice imo.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
Fickell is waiting for OSU to fire Day after we kick their asses in Columbus next November. After their run since the Tressel, OSU will not suffer another Cooper era. If can knock them off 2 or 3 years in a row they're going to make some serious panic moves down there.
December 3rd, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
please let us know next fall if you have that same prophetic vision about ohio as you had this year. glorious.
December 3rd, 2021 at 2:43 PM ^
Would be great if all of that happens.
But Day will probably fix his defensive coaching staff and continue with a high-scoring offense.
Harbaugh has shown that he can beat OSU. But we should expect it to be a real challenge every year. Unlikely that OSU becomes a mess or falls apart, unfortunately.