Notre Dame football: Examining the rise of Marcus Freeman

How did he get to Notre Dame?

Freeman landed back with Ohio State for the 2010 college football season, and would only last one season before getting a full-time job at Kent State as a linebacker coach. A product of the state of Ohio, and Ohio State, Kent State made a lot of sense as his first landing spot, and after two years, he took a job at Purdue.

At Purdue, Freeman held the linebacker coach position as well, before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator. With the Boilermakers, Freeman really began to establish himself as a guy who could produce elite players at the linebacker spot and gained incredible knowledge in the co-DC role.

When Luke Fickell took over at Cincinnati, Freeman was one of the first calls he made, as Freeman played for him at Ohio State when Fickell was the linebacker coach. He knew all about Freeman’s intensity, knowledge, and ability to connect with the players, so making him the defensive coordinator was a bit of a no-brainer.

Also, Freeman was taking over a bad defense, so the task would be a tough one in his first real shot as a full-time defensive coordinator. Not only did Freeman help Cincinnati improve, but he turned them into one of the best defenses in college football, and this past season, he was named 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year.