Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 JANUARY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL I f Luke Fickell's original suggestion to him had prevailed, Marcus Free- man wouldn't have stood behind a podium Dec. 6 inside the Irish Athletic Center and declared himself ready to "lead this program to the great- est heights." He wouldn't have come to Notre Dame 11 months prior as defen- sive coordinator. Wouldn't have worked for Fickell at Cincinnati and built a dominant defense. In fact, he wouldn't have coached at all. In 2010, Freeman met with Fickell — now Cincinnati's head coach and then an Ohio State assistant — to discuss his future after his one-year NFL foray ended due to a heart condition. Freeman wanted to stay around football, some way, somehow. Fickell was his mentor and 2004-08 position coach at Ohio State, someone who Freeman knew would think with his former players' best interest in mind. When Freeman brought up the idea of coaching, Fickell offered a warning. You don't want to do this, he said. No, Freeman replied, he was all in and not changing his mind. So Fickell brought him on as a gradu- ate assistant with the Buckeyes, which Freeman quickly turned into a position coaching job at Kent State in a year. He was off and running, a hungry climber out to prove himself. It didn't take long to get noticed. On a recruiting trip back to his alma mater, Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne High School, another mentor concluded Freeman could go places as a coach. "He has 'it,'" Freeman's head coach at Wayne, Jay Minton, told Blue & Gold Illustrated last year. "When those guys come in a room, do they have it or do they not?' Are they ordinary or are they a little above? Marcus was a lot above. "It seemed like a million bucks walked through that door. Big smile. I know he was walking into my office and his old high school, but I heard it from other guys, too." THE TIMELINE OF THE BRIAN KELLY TO MARCUS FREEMAN TRANSITION • Nov. 27: Brian Kelly coaches Notre Dame's regular-season finale, a 45-14 win over Stanford. • Nov. 29: Reports surface of Kelly's can- didacy at LSU. A few hours later, Yahoo! Sports' Pete Thamel reports that LSU is hiring him. • Nov. 30: LSU announces Kelly as its head coach. He left Notre Dame despite its out- side shot at making the College Football Playoff. Later in the evening, director of sports performance Matt Balis tells Irish players he would remain with the program. • Dec. 1: Reports surface that Notre Dame has chosen Freeman as Kelly's successor. Earlier in the evening, offensive coordi- nator Tommy Rees tells his players he is staying with the team. Other coaches an- nounce their intention to stay as well. • Dec. 3: Notre Dame announces Freeman as its Dick Corbett Head Football Coach. • Dec. 5: Notre Dame finishes No. 5 in the CFP rankings and draws a Fiesta Bowl matchup against No. 9 Oklahoma State. • Dec. 6: Notre Dame introduces Freeman as its 30th head coach. • Dec. 11: Freeman holds his first practice as head coach. • Dec. 15: Notre Dame's 2022 recruiting class signs. • Jan. 1: Freeman will make his head coach- ing debut in the Fiesta Bowl. Freeman and his wife, Joanna, with their six children: Vinny, Siena, Gino, Nico, Capri and Rocco. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS