.jpg) Freeman in 2024 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Notre Dame |
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 38–12 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1986-01-10)January 10, 1986 (age 39) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2004–2008 | Ohio State |
| 2009 | Chicago Bears |
| 2009 | Buffalo Bills |
| 2009 | Houston Texans |
| Position | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2010 | Ohio State (GA) |
| 2011–2012 | Kent State (LB) |
| 2013–2015 | Purdue (LB) |
| 2016 | Purdue (co-DC/LB) |
| 2017–2020 | Cincinnati (DC/LB) |
| 2021 | Notre Dame (DC/LB) |
| 2021–present | Notre Dame |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 38–12 |
| Bowls | 5–2 |
| Tournaments | 3–1 (CFP) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| |
Marcus Louis Freeman (born January 10, 1986) is an Americanfootball coach and formerlinebacker who is thehead coach of theNotre Dame Fighting Irish. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Notre Dame in 2021. Freeman also was an assistant coach at theUniversity of Cincinnati,Purdue University,Kent State University, andOhio State University.
Freeman playedcollege football atOhio State and was drafted by theChicago Bears in the fifth round of the2009 NFL draft, but was released before the regular season. He then served onpractice squads for theBuffalo Bills andHouston Texans. Following the 2009 season, he retired from his playing career due to aheart condition.
Marcus Freeman was born at theWright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center inDayton, Ohio.[1][2] Freeman's mother, Chong Freeman, is fromSouth Korea,[3] and met his father, Michael Freeman, an African American, while he was serving in theU.S. Air Force and then moved to Ohio in 1976.[4][5] He has an older brother, Michael Jr.[6]
Freeman attendedWayne High School inHuber Heights, Ohio.[6] He totaled 152 tackles, including 29 behind the line of scrimmage, and eight sacks as a junior. As a senior, he was rated as one of the top three overall prospects in Ohio and was named to theParade All-American Team after being credited with 127 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries as a senior.[citation needed] Freeman was a four-year starter and a two-time first-team All-Ohio selection. He was also part of thetrack and field team, competing in the4 × 100 metres relay and throwing theshot anddiscus. As a freshman, Freeman was part of the team that won theOHSAA track and field championship.
Freeman finished his freshman season in2004 with four tackles (one solo) while playing in 13 games.
Freeman was redshirted in2005 after injuring his knee in the Buckeyes' first game againstMiami (OH).[7]
During the2006 season, Freeman made 71 tackles while playing in 13 games, 11 of which he started, and was second on the team with six pass break-ups and two interceptions.
In2007, Freeman was a second-year starting linebacker and a part of three special units. He was later named second-team All-Big Ten after he totaled 109 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and five pass deflections.
In2008, Freeman started all 13 games for the Buckeyes, tallying 84 tackles (39 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and 3.5 sacks. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Big Ten second team for a second straight year and was an Academic All-Big Ten selection. Following the season, Freeman declared for the2009 NFL draft.
Freeman appeared in 51 games (37 starts) throughout his career. He started 26 games at weak-side linebacker and 11 games at strong-side linebacker and was a two-time Second-team All-Big Ten selection. He finished his career 19th on the school's all-time tackle list with 268 stops (140 solo) and was credited with 21.5 TFLs, 6.0 sacks, 15 PBUs, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.
| Ohio State Buckeyes | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | FF | TD | |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 |  Redshirt | ||||||||||||
| 2006 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 37 | 71 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 13 | 13 | 66 | 43 | 109 | 9.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 13 | 13 | 39 | 45 | 84 | 9.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 51 | 37 | 140 | 128 | 268 | 21.5 | 6.0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 239 lb (108 kg) | 32 in (0.81 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.74 s | 1.64 s | 2.77 s | 4.12 s | 6.98 s | 37 in (0.94 m) | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) | 30 reps | |
| Arm and hand spans from Pro Day, all other values fromNFL Combine.[8] | ||||||||||||
Freeman was drafted in the fifth round of the2009 NFL draft by theChicago Bears, and appeared in all four Bears preseason games.[9][10] On September 4, he was waived.
On September 22, Freeman signed onto theBuffalo Billspractice squad.[11][10] The team later released him on October 5.
On November 4, Freeman signed with theHouston Texans practice squad, where he finished out the 2009 season.[10]
Before signing with theIndianapolis Colts, Freeman was diagnosed with anenlarged heart condition by a team physician in February 2010.[10] He retired May 1.
Freeman served as agraduate assistant atOhio State in 2010.[12]
In January 2011, Freeman was hired as thelinebackers coach forKent State, a position he would hold until 2012.[13]
On January 18, 2013, Freeman was hired as the linebackers coach for thePurdue Boilermakers.[14] In 2016, Freeman was promoted to co-defensive coordinator.[15] Freeman helped transform the linebackers group into a strength for the Boilermakers, coaching future NFL players Danny Ezechukwu andJa'Whaun Bentley.
On December 13, 2016, Freeman joined theCincinnati Bearcats football staff as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.[16] After being one of the first hires byLuke Fickell, Freeman transformed the Bearcats into one of the best defenses of theAmerican Athletic Conference (AAC). In 2018, Freeman's defense led the AAC in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense and ranked among the Top-15 in the NCAA FBS in all three categories. The next season, the Bearcats finished atop the 2019 AAC ranks in scoring defense for the second-straight season and ranked among the league's top three in rushing and total defense.[17]
Prior to the end of the 2020 season, Freeman had declined a handful of positions to remain at Cincinnati including offers of returning toOhio State aslinebackers coach,[18] linebackers coach for theTennessee Titans,[19] anddefensive coordinator atMichigan State,[20] among other offers. Freeman had been considered by a number of national outlets as one of the rising stars of the college coaching ranks.[21]
Freeman was a finalist for theBroyles Award and named the247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year during the 2020 season.[22][23]
On January 8, 2021, Freeman was hired as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for theNotre Dame Fighting Irish. Freeman was the top choice for the position of head coachBrian Kelly.[24] Prior to this hiring, it was rumored that Freeman would joinLSU in the same role.[25]
Following the2021 regular season, Brian Kelly left Notre Dame to become the head coach for LSU.[26] On December 3, 2021, Freeman was selected to replace him, becoming the 32nd head coach in program history.[27] Freeman took control immediately, coaching the Irish in theirFiesta Bowl loss to No. 9Oklahoma State.[28]
Freeman opened the2022 season with losses to No. 2Ohio State andMarshall, thus becoming first head coach in Notre Dame history to start his career with three losses.[29]
He gained his first win the following week against theCaliforniaGolden Bears. Freeman's Irish would go on to finish the regular season ranked 19th with a record of 8–4, including a win over No. 5Clemson. They were awarded a berth in theGator Bowl, where they defeatedSouth Carolina 45–38.
Analysts anticipated the 2023 season would be a step forward for Freeman’s Fighting Irish. During the offseason, they secured the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal, Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman, and they entered the season ranked 13th. After beginning the season 4–0 with comfortable wins over Navy, Tennessee State, North Carolina State, and Central Michigan, the Irish rose to 9th in the rankings. They fell at home the next week to Ohio State, 17–14, in a heartbreaking loss that saw Notre Dame with only 10 players on the field, instead of the usual 11, twice on Ohio State’s game winning drive. They rebounded the next week with a thrilling win over No. 17 Duke, but then lost the following game to No. 25 Louisville. One week later, Irish enjoyed a season-defining 48–20 victory over No. 10 USC and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams. Following a bye week, Freeman’s Irish defeated Pittsburgh and fell to unranked Clemson before winning against Wake Forest and Stanford to finish the regular season 9–3. They faced No. 19 Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, winning 40–8 to conclude the season 10–3 and ranked 14th. The 2023 campaign was defined by strong performances from star running back Audric Estime, quarterback Sam Hartman, tight end Mitchell Evans, and safety Xavier Watts, but it was also marred by poor play at the wide receiver position, especially following early injuries to veteran receivers Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie. Evans’ injury against Pittsburgh left the Irish without any reliable pass catchers, and the team struggled when unable to run the ball at will.
Following the season, Freeman fired wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey, prompting the departure of starting wide receiversChris Tyree, Tobias Meriweather, andRico Flores Jr. Freeman hired Mike Brown as the new receivers coach on December 10. He then got quarterbackRiley Leonard in the transfer portal from Duke.
Freeman’s2024 squad started their campaign successfully on the road against No. 20Texas A&M inCollege Station, Texas with a 23–13 win, but followed that victory up with a 16–14 loss toNorthern Illinois as a 29.5-point betting favorite, becoming the firstAP Top 5 team to ever suffer a loss to a football team from theMid-American Conference (MAC). The Irish finished the regular season with a 10-game winning streak with wins over No. 15Louisville, No. 24Navy, No. 19Army, and a 49–35 win againstUSC in the renewedrivalry game.
The Irish were granted the 7th seed in theCollege Football Playoff, hosting their first-ever home playoff game atNotre Dame Stadium. Freeman would win his first playoff game with a 27–17 win over 10th-seededIndiana. Originally Notre Dame was set to play the 2nd-seededGeorgia Bulldogs in theSugar Bowl on January 1, 2025, but due to the2025 New Orleans truck attack that happened near theCaesars Superdome the game was rescheduled to the following day. Notre Dame beat Georgia by a score of 23–10, marking the first time in program history that Notre Dame had a 13-win season. Notre Dame would then proceed to beat the 6th-seededPenn State Nittany Lions in theOrange Bowl, advancing to thenational title game for the first time in 12 years. Freeman became the first African American, as well as the first Asian American, head coach to reach a Division I national college football championship.[30] They lost the championship game to theOhio State Buckeyes 34–23, the winner of theCotton Bowl Classic.[31]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish(NCAA Division I FBS independent)(2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 0–1[n 1] | LFiesta† | 9 | 8 | ||||
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 9–4 | WGator | 18 | 18 | ||||
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 10–3 | WSun | 14 | 14 | ||||
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 14–2 | WCFP First Round†,WSugar†,WOrange†,LCFP NCG† | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 2025 | Notre Dame | 5–2 | |||||||
| Notre Dame: | 38–12 | ||||||||
| Total: | 38–12 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
In 2010, Freeman married Joanna (née Herncane), whom he had dated since college. The couple have six children.[32][33] In 2022, Freeman became aCatholic.[34]
Fr. Bill recently concelebrated in a Mass where Marcus Freeman was received into the Catholic Church. After preparing with Fr. Nate Wills, C.S.C., chaplain of the Notre Dame football team, Marcus made a profession of faith, was confirmed, and received his First Holy Communion.