How Marcus Freeman Revitalized Notre Dame in 3 Years

Photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck- Imagn Images

For the first time since 2012, the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish are in the national championship game. But it's not the only "first" that the Irish accomplished by making it to this game. It will be the first time that a head coach of African and Asian descent coaches in the national championship. The Irish's Marcus Freeman gets that distinction. Freeman's Irish will take on the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes, coached by Ryan Day.

Freeman's Path

The Irish's head coach started off his career as a player. He played his college years at none other than Ohio State—as a linebacker for the Buckeyes. Unfortunately, his professional career was not as successful. He spent 2009 with the Chicago Bears, the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans. In 2010, he started his first coaching job as a graduate assistant with the Buckeyes. In 2011 and 2012, he served as Kent State's linebackers coach.

Photo by Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer-Imagn Content Services, LLC

He moved on to back into the Big Ten Conference with Purdue as their linebackers coach until 2016 where he added the role of co-defensive coordinator to his resume. He spent the next four seasons at Cincinnati in the same roles before moving to South Bend Ind. where he ended up at Notre Dame in the same roles in 2021.

However, when former Irish coach Brian Kelly left to become the Louisiana State Tigers head coach in Southeastern Conference country, Notre Dame immediately looked to hire Freeman for the job. The decision could not have been more correct. Since the day that Freeman was announced, his players have rallied around him and in just three short years, the Irish have fought their way back to national championship contention, a place they haven't been since 2012. They also haven't won a national championship since 1988.

How the Irish Got Here

Notre Dame made it into the College Football Playoff after going 11-1 in the regular season. Their only loss came in Week 2 in an upset against Northern Illinois University where the Huskies won 16-14 in South Bend, Ind. Since then, the Irish have gone on a tear, winning every game including three CFP games.

The first of these playoff games, the Irish took down the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers, 27-17 in South Bend on Dec. 20, 2024. They moved on to the quarterfinals taking on No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The Irish prevailed over the Bulldogs, winning 23-10 and advancing to the Orange Bowl semifinal game against the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions. The two teams struggled to surpass each other. In the end, Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter made the game-winning field goal with just seven seconds left to put the Irish in the 2025 CFP National Championship.

The National Championship will take place on Jan. 20 in Atlanta. It will conclude the longest College Football Playoff and season in general as Ohio State and Notre Dame will be playing a 16th game. However, the Irish will look to end the 37-year championship drought.

In three years, Freeman changed the culture and did what Kelly could not—make it to the national championship game. While it remains to be seen if he can win the ultimate prize, it is still a massive accomplishment. It is so much so that some NFL teams are taking notice. The Chicago Bears have Freeman on the list of interviewees for their vacant head coaching position. But first, Freeman will focus on winning Notre Dame's 12th national title.