Marcus Freeman Letter to ND
December 8th, 2021 at 5:43 PM ^
No hell with Notre Dame… and fuck Ohio, too!
December 8th, 2021 at 5:55 PM ^
Regardless of my very low esteem for Notre Dame football, I love what Freeman said. I'm betting he will do an excellent job in South Bend. And then go to the NFL.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:04 PM ^
For those interested in, you know, reading it
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/marcus-freeman-notre-dame-college-football
December 8th, 2021 at 6:50 PM ^
Interesting tea leaves, he references that he chose between LSU and ND as a coach after choosing between OSU and ND as a player.. which I would take to mean LSU offered him the head coaching job before they hired Brian Kelly?
I don't recall a coaching search where a school goes after a coordinator, is subsequently turned down and then hires the head coach from that school instead.
In any event, will be interesting (sorta) to see how he does at ND. He can definitely recruit, and coordinate a defense. Running a football program like ND's (objectively, probably the most difficult job in America in terms of meeting expectations while managing the inherent institutional recruiting challenges) is a whole different animal.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:53 PM ^
I took that to mean LSU=Kelly and that he turned down going with him to be DC at LSU…Based solely on seein an ESPN article where LSU AD said they were only interested in big name & proven coaches this go around…
December 8th, 2021 at 6:54 PM ^
I took it to mean Kelly offered him the same position at LSU, which he turned down to stay at ND.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:00 PM ^
Orgeron tried to hire Freeman as his DC at LSU about 11 months ago, but Freeman chose Notre Dame instead.
And yes, I believe Kelly also tried to convince Freeman to follow him to LSU in this cycle.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:42 PM ^
Exactly. I think this is pretty clear in the article. Not sure how others are misinterpreting
December 8th, 2021 at 10:14 PM ^
*other
December 8th, 2021 at 5:44 PM ^
You hate to see it.
December 8th, 2021 at 5:47 PM ^
I absolutely love that quote.
The only possible improvement in Freeman taking this dump on the buckeyes would have been for him to say it while pointing at a cooler.
December 8th, 2021 at 5:48 PM ^
Man, you talk about being in the right place at the right time. ND is a big time job for a first time head coach.
December 8th, 2021 at 5:53 PM ^
gerry faust 2.0?
December 8th, 2021 at 7:57 PM ^
Or Bob Davie. Or Charlie Weiss. ND's history with first time CFB head coaches ain't great.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:18 PM ^
I had figured that Matt Campbell would have been their first choice. It's a surprising hire. Tbh I wouldn't mind them being really good just to piss off Ohio State fans
December 8th, 2021 at 6:06 PM ^
I am already sick of this guy.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:10 PM ^
He's not wrong. ND is a respectable school.
December 8th, 2021 at 8:00 PM ^
One that kills grad students.
December 8th, 2021 at 9:54 PM ^
Notre Dame is probably the most overrated school in America. Respectable? Yeah, I’ll give you that. But they’re not on Michigan’s level.
Also, while their undergrad program is more demanding/prestigious than OSU, as a grad school/research institute OSU is better for most fields. Hell, there are two B1G schools in Indiana that are better than Notre Dame. I know I’ve read way more work from IU and Purdue scholars, and Purdue isn’t particularly known for my field.
December 8th, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
I hate Notre Dame more than basically anyone I've ever met but this is patently false unless your academic field is the study of obscure mascots.
December 9th, 2021 at 5:34 PM ^
Why would you think it’s false?
I’m assuming you aren’t familiar with the academic research scene. How competitive or prestigious a school is for undergraduate students tends to not have all that much bearing on the academic reputation and strength of any one of its departments. Ohio State is an enormous research university and I am sure it has many, many elite graduate programs that are better than their counterparts at Notre Dame. And vice versa of course.
In any particular field it’s entirely possible the best department in the country based on the stature of its faculty, the quality of its labs, library collections, the scholarly journals it publishes, etc. might be at Stanford or it might be at Iowa State.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:11 PM ^
Funny thing is that ND opens its season next year against (yep) OSU.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:19 PM ^
Yeah and I think its in Columbus.
Will be a good test for both...but I'll be pulling for ND in that one. Easy call.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:00 PM ^
OSU is going to destroy Notre Dame.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:21 PM ^
Kind of like what Michigan just did to osu (for the 59th time)
December 8th, 2021 at 7:57 PM ^
OSU will beat the brakes off ND. Not only has ND never defeated OSU in the modern era, they haven’t come close.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:15 PM ^
I remember we also recruited him pretty hard back in the day
December 8th, 2021 at 6:41 PM ^
So he did make a a real HORRIBLE decision coming out of HS.
December 8th, 2021 at 6:56 PM ^
You can't post this without a link.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:55 PM ^
Not only can I, I did.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:07 PM ^
I keep telling people that I grew up despising Notre Dame's football program, and I want to hate it, and I obviously still do, but Marcus Freeman the person seems like a good man for the OSU shade alone.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:08 PM ^
Gold, Jerry
December 8th, 2021 at 7:17 PM ^
Great letter and great coach! I hope he takes a dump on OSU September 3 2022.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:35 PM ^
If they lose the Rose Bowl (to a team that's less talented but a lot more enthusiastic about being there than they are) and Notre Dame takes them in the opener next year, it would make three losses in a row, (which they haven't experienced since God knows when), and Columbus and Buckeye Nation would have a total meltdown.
Go Irish!
December 8th, 2021 at 7:57 PM ^
Still hate them, but much less without Kelly.
Kelly was a perfect villain and general pos human being.
December 8th, 2021 at 8:04 PM ^
Kelly no longer being the HC at ND makes them significantly more tolerable, though I still find their particular brand of holier-than-thou framing of their program immensely tiring.
December 8th, 2021 at 8:27 PM ^
Maybe less intolerable. But not "more tolerable." That implies some positive value of tolerable. Come on, man, it's Notre Dame! We hate them.
December 8th, 2021 at 9:36 PM ^
I've never hated ND as much as some of the other rivals for whatever reason, likely a combination of infrequency and lingering Catholic guilt. But Kelly really made them unlikeable to a degree that will probably subside a bit if Freeman is just your garden-variety Domer coach.
December 8th, 2021 at 10:56 PM ^
Fuck notre shame for ever more
December 9th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
Freeman's talking out of both sides of his mouth. First he takes a shot at the school he played for:
"And I chose Ohio State... And I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice."
But then he goes on to laud the Ohio State coaches he played for:
"I’ve gotten that same advice, over and over, from some of the best leaders I’ve ever talked to. Guys like Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell."
So which is it, Marcus? Was attending Ohio State a mistake, or was it a valuable experience for your growth as a leader?