Marcus Freeman has to prove Notre Dame’s faith was worth it
Notre Dame wasn’t expected to hire a new head coach following the 2021 season but Chip Kelly left abruptly for LSU and soon after, Marcus Freeman was named the head coach.
It was a meteoric rise for Freeman. He was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati before taking the same job in South Bend and after one year, he was picked to be Kelly’s replacement.
I thought, as did many others thought Luke Fickell would be enticed by that job. Matt Campbell of Iowa State was another that seemed like a good fit. But Notre Dame passed over those “big names” for Freeman.
So far, he has proven to be dynamic on the recruiting trail. We don’t know anything as a head coach because the Fiesta Bowl doesn’t count for much.
Now, with a talented team and a former five-star quarterback as a sophomore, the expectations are high and it will be up to Freeman to prove that Notre Dame was right to have faith in him.