From Rock Bottom to the Brink of Greatness: Marcus Freeman Leading Notre Dame's Climb

Liam Farrell
1 day ago
4 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

From the sting of embarrassing home losses to the journey of the College Football Playoff, Marcus Freeman's tenure has been defined by twists and turns - but 2025 may be his defining season.

Art by The Irish Tribune

Marcus Freeman has coined many mantras since being the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame. From "The Golden Standard" to "Choose Hard", Freeman has always sought for his rosters to strive for "Team Glory." Yet, the biggest Freeman-ism that also relates to the man himself, "Elevate."

While Freeman himself elevated from being the defensive coordinator of the Irish during the Brian Kelly tenure, he has also elevated since entering the role of a head coach. Coming into the position, Freeman was raw with abundant recruiting potential and a knack of connecting with his players.

Freeman has evolved in multiple facets, though it took time to find his footing.

To start his career as a head coach, Freeman went 0-3. His first loss saw the Irish blow away a 28-7 lead to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl to extend Notre Dame's New Year's Six bowl game drought.

Then, in his first season opener, preseason No. 5 Notre Dame squandered a 10-7 halftime lead on the road to the Ohio State Buckeyes, in which Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees were critiqued due to the conservative nature of their offensive gameplan.

A week later, the Irish were stunned at home by Marshall in a 26-21 loss that had the fanbase questioning the promotion. While Freeman eventually found his footing in year one, losses to Stanford and USC still left a poor taste.

Yet, Freeman's ability to wake-up for the big game, in this year's case, undefeated No. 4 Clemson entering South Bend, was also a redeeming quality that wasn't apparent in the previous administration. The 35-14 beatdown of the Tigers, who in recent memory, seemed to always get the best of the Irish in top-ranked matchups, cemented Freeman's place atop the program.

In year two, Freeman got some support when the Irish went into their NIL fund to add Sam Hartman from the portal.

Hartman's impact in South Bend was immediate as the Irish blitzed out to a 4-0 start to the season. Everything looked to be going Freeman and the Irish's way until the dreaded Ohio State Buckeyes entered South Bend and left with a walk-off win that featured the Irish only having 10 players on the field for the last defensive play of the game. A coaching blunder in the final seconds of the biggest game of the year that ultimately falls on the shoulders of the head coach.

Following the heart-breaking loss to Ohio State, road games seemed to be the Achilles heel for Freeman in year two. While narrowly escaping with a win at Duke, thanks to a 17-yard scramble by Hartman on a 4th & 16 that extended the game-winning drive, the Irish fell on the road to Louisville and Clemson. The energy and prep for both of those ACC road losses seemed to be subpar, especially when comparing it to their success at home that season, specifically against then undefeated USC.

While the Irish dropped three regular season games, they finished the year on a high note by rattling off four straight wins, including a dismantling of Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. Freeman and the Irish continued this momentum by being active in the transfer portal, adding three wide receivers, a star nickel, and highly touted quarterback, Riley Leonard.

Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today!

With a reloaded roster and an extremely favorable schedule, year three for Freeman was destined for greatness, especially given the success of former head coaches in their third year at Notre Dame. All Notre Dame had to do was get over the treacherous opening game, on the road against Texas A&M and then the Irish seemed to be in the clear.

For what seemed to be a common theme in the Freeman era, the Irish were ready for the Aggies, and left college station with a double-digit victory in SEC territory. Freeman was energized from the very beginning, reassuring and hyping-up his players in the tunnel, as the Irish delivered one of their best performances in recent history.

And then the collapse.

The following week was the complete opposite story. The most embarrassing loss of the CFB season to Northern Illinois, and the No. 5 Irish were the laughingstock of college football. With all expectations and playoff-hype thrown out the window, the Irish were back to square one, and the questions towards Marcus Freeman arose again.

While many people would want to forget about that game, Freeman used it as a source of motivation for the entire season. He often had replays of that game playing on the TVs inside the Gug, and continuously reminded his players about the tragic loss any chance he could. The outcome of this was 13-straight victories, including three CFP wins and two NY6 bowl game wins to launch the Fighting Irish into the National Championship.

While the job wasn't finished as the Buckeyes once again, for the third year in a row, took down the Fighting Irish, Freeman learned another lesson in the face of defeat.

Now, entering year four, Freeman has established himself near the top of the best coaches in the sport. While he had to endure his first quarterback battle as a head coach, he has finally encountered everything that the head coaching role entails. Through trial-and-error, Freeman has put himself in a position for the Irish to take off. Through increased recruiting efforts and phenomenal development, Notre Dame has bridged the talent gap across the sport's best and are ready to take the next step of bringing a National Championship back to South Bend.

For Freeman and the Irish, the 2025 season will be an uphill climb; a daunting schedule that could derail playoff hopes at every turn. Yet, at the end of the day, Freeman will only ask one thing of his players at the end of every week: Elevate. With experience behind him and opportunity ahead, the question isn’t whether Notre Dame can elevate, but rather, how high.