Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 29, 2022 5 U h-oh. Marcus Freeman said a no-no. Just when it looked like the first-year Notre Dame head coach was back on track, both with his on-field product and his presence in a press conference setting, his train went down the wrong side of the track. Rather, it was derailed entirely. Freeman was asked the Monday after the Fighting Irish lost a home game to Stanford, a 16.5-point un- derdog, how often he consults for- mer Ohio State head coach and 2002 national champion Jim Tressel, Free- man's head coach during his playing days with the Buckeyes. He said the right things — initially. The two talk often. Tressel offers opinions in confidence. Freeman re- spects what he hears and notes the important pieces. He appreciates Tressel's honesty and support. It's a beneficial mentorship. Then Freeman went rogue. He lost control of the wheel. "I keep telling myself to build some- thing the right way, and I can't build on what's been done in the past," he said. "What Coach [Brian] Kelly did here was tremendous with the wins and the success he had here. But I can't come in here and say, 'OK, I have to be Brian Kelly.' I have to be Marcus Freeman." There is absolutely nothing wrong with the final two sentences. He's 100 percent correct; he'll never be Kelly. There is only one of those. He's at LSU now. And there is only one Freeman. He's in the early stages of defining who he is and how his name will resonate with college football enthusiasts decades down the line. But that first sentence? Oh boy. It's completely out of touch. Of course Freeman can build on what's been done in the past. That's actually ex- actly what he was hired to do 10 months ago. Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick landed on Freeman be- cause he felt he was the best candidate to continue what Notre Dame had already accomplished — putting forth a 54-10 record with two College Football Playoff appearances during what was the most prolific five-year stretch in program his- tory from a total wins perspective. W h e n a n n o u n c i n g Fre e m a n a s Notre Dame's new head coach Dec. 6, Swarbrick said he enlisted current Irish players for feedback. "What they insisted I understand was that they had built the best culture in college football," Swarbrick said. "That they have friends playing at other places around the country — they have a way to make that assessment — and they were confident that this culture in this program was the best in the country." Swarbrick took that and set out to ac- complish a pair of tasks with his im- minent hire. "One was to select the best possible coach to lead the program," he said. "The other was to protect the culture they had built." Freeman is certainly earnest and eager to do the former. But saying he "can't build on what's been done in the past" is in complete contrast from the hopes his boss had for the latter. Swarbrick didn't promote Freeman for the culture the players spoke so highly of to erode with two head- scratching home losses in his first half-dozen regular-season games. This isn't a very alluring instance of revisionist history. At first he said all he needed to do was make some tweaks. Now he's saying he can't build on any of what Kelly left be- hind — a pot of gold. Notre Dame has potential first- round NFL Draft picks on both sides of the ball in junior tight end Michael Mayer and senior defensive end Isa- iah Foskey. Those centerpieces are surrounded by talented players at most other positions. Sure, the quar- terback is a major question mark. But injuries like the one to sophomore Tyler Buchner occur often. And who's to say Kelly wouldn't have reeled in a veteran signal-caller from the transfer portal? He did so prior to the 2021 season. Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees elected not to do so this time. That's on them. This is a Notre Dame program that went 11-1 in last year's regular sea- son and finished one spot shy of a third CFP bid in four years. That doesn't mean the Irish were set up to make it back this year, but who saw such a dras- tic drop-off coming? Notre Dame was the consensus preseason No. 5 team in the country. Who predicted losses to Marshall and Stanford? Not FBS coaches or the Associated Press. Every first-year head coach is allowed time to take wounds and lick them. But to say Freeman did not inherit a fortu- itous situation is naïve. And it's even more beguiling, even if that wasn't the intent, of Freeman to imply he has to build Notre Dame from the ground up. This wasn't Kelly taking over what- ever it was Charlie Weis left behind. This is Kelly bequeathing unto Freeman a symbol of success and stability. Where has it gone in a matter of months? ✦ GOLDEN GAMUT TYLER HORKA Tyler Horka has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2021. He can be reached at thorka@blueandgold.com Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman made a puzzling com- ment in the aftermath of the Fighting Irish's loss to Stanford. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Program-Building Comment A Cause For Concern