So he got the Master’s, because he’d need that. This was a man with a plan, an elite football player at Ohio State whose NFL career was derailed by an enlarged heart, but a man whose charisma and intelligence were so large that his future in coaching was assured. More: Video naming Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame's coach has fans 'ready to run through a brick wall' Please, Marcus, be who everyone says you are. Right now all we have is a vague outline – who is Marcus Freeman? – but with his help, we’ll fill the gaps as we go. Does the reaction to the video introducing him as the new Irish coach – it's love at first sight – prove it? No.īut it’s a start. Does any of that prove he’s a wonderful human being? No. Marcus Freeman married his college sweetheart, then went back to school in 2011 to get his Master’s degree. I have a lot more to say about you.īut first, to cleanse my palate, to feel good again about college sports – to express my affection, finally, for Notre Dame football – let’s talk about Marcus Freeman, the man Notre Dame just hired to replace Brian Kelly. This guy is your problem now, LSU, but don’t stop reading just yet. “Any negative criticism about me now is because we're 4-7,” he said in 2016, demonstrating his philosophy on coaching a big-time football program:īad stuff is bad only if we don’t win enough. Didn’t humble him, either.Īfter the alleged rape of Seeberg in August 2010, after the death of Declan Sullivan two months later, Kelly was so humbled by it all that he decided the punishment in 2016 for academic fraud in his program, involving a student athletic trainer and three players, was overstated. Mary’s College student Lizzy Seeberg, with Seeberg committing suicide 10 days after the alleged assault – didn’t slow him down. He won so many games, other issues you’d think would derail a man’s coaching career – truly unthinkable issues like a student-manager falling to his death from a 50-foot hydraulic scissor lift after being sent up there on a frighteningly windy day like a linebacker being accused of raping St. More: 5 things to know about Notre Dame's new head coach Marcus Freeman The power of the pen isn’t nearly as mighty as the power of winning a lot of football games. Five years ago, when the long list of problems in Kelly’s program suddenly included the unthinkable – NCAA violations stemming from academic fraud … at Notre Dame – I said he should be fired. Hey, is it OK to admit I never liked Brian Kelly? Shouldn’t be that big a surprise. Brian Kelly is gone, and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman is staying, and finally the Irish have a coach to rally behind. It’s OK to like Notre Dame football again.
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