Notre Dame football: Marcus Freeman era off to an exciting start
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team is in good hands with new head coach Marcus Freeman, who is off to an exciting start in South Bend.
The Notre Dame football team was left shocked when Brian Kelly announced that he would be leaving for the LSU Tigers. A mainstay for the program, bringing them back from the dead, Kelly had just spoken a few days earlier that it would have to take a ‘fairy godmother’ with a ‘$250 million’ check to get him to leave.
Well, it was not $250 million, but it was plenty of money, and in the end, Kelly left for the Tigers and a chance to coach in the SEC. That left the Irish with a choice to make, and at first, it looked like athletic director Jack Swarbrick was going to take his time naming a head coach, even stating there would be no interim for the bowl game.
That did not last long, as Freeman was named head coach later in the week, much to the delight of alumni, players, and coaches. Since being inserted into the role, it has been an exciting time for this Notre Dame football program, as they have rallied around Freeman, and will look to knock off Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl in a few weeks.
On Saturday, when the Irish defeated Kentucky in upset, stunning fashion, Freeman stole the show, as he was in attendance, and the crowd absolutely loved it. He was born for this job, and it is safe to say the program and fans are extremely excited to have him lead the Irish moving forward.
Notre Dame football dominating the recruiting trail
Since being named head coach, Freeman has already landed two outstanding recruits, one for each of the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes. We saw what he could do on the recruiting trail as a coordinator, and the fact that he is now the head coach should lead to the program catching schools like Ohio State and Alabama in the recruiting rankings.
Overall, this was a home run hire by the program when they hired him as the defensive coordinator, and will prove to be even better with him as head coach. Kelly took the program as far as he could, but this young, energetic head coach is going to take them to the next level.