Marcus Freeman: From Buckeye Linebacker to Notre Dame's Head Coach

Marcus Louis Freeman, born on January 10, 1986, has carved a prominent name for himself in American football, transitioning from a college player to a celebrated head coach. Currently leading the University of Notre Dame as its 30th head football coach, Freeman's journey is marked by his experiences as a linebacker, his early coaching roles, and his rise to prominence at Notre Dame.

Early Life and High School Career

Freeman's football journey began at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio, where he quickly established himself as a formidable talent. As a junior, he recorded 152 tackles, including 29 behind the line of scrimmage, and eight sacks. His senior year saw him named to the Parade All-American Team after amassing 127 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. Rated as one of Ohio's top prospects, Freeman was a four-year starter and a two-time first-team All-Ohio selection. He also participated in track and field, showcasing his athletic versatility.

College Playing Career at Ohio State

Freeman's prowess on the field led him to Ohio State, where he played college football from 2004 to 2008. He appeared in 51 games for the Buckeyes, starting in 37 of them. He started 26 games at weak-side linebacker and 11 games at strong-side linebacker. In 2007, Freeman was a second-year starting linebacker and contributed to three special units.

In 2008, Freeman started all 13 games, recording 84 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. His performance earned him a place on the All-Big Ten second team for the second consecutive year and an Academic All-Big Ten selection. He was a two-time Second-team All-Big Ten selection.

Freeman's time at Ohio State was marked by significant team success, including four Big Ten conference titles and two BCS National Championship Game appearances. In the 2008 BCS National Championship Game against LSU, he made 14 tackles and forced a fumble. While the Buckeyes lost both title games he played in, Freeman's contributions were notable.

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Professional Playing Career

Despite a successful college career, Freeman's time in the NFL was short-lived. Drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, he was released before the regular season. He then joined the practice squads for the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans but never played in a regular-season game due to an enlarged heart valve.

Transition to Coaching

Freeman started his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State in 2010. He then served as the linebackers coach at Kent State from 2011 to 2012, where he developed all-conference selections Luke Batton and C.J. Malauulu. Under Freeman's direction, inside linebacker Luke Batton earned second team All-Mid-American Conference honors in 2012 after finishing with 143 total tackles, including 80 solo stops. Outside linebacker C.J. Malauulu was a third team all-conference selection in 2012, recording 72 total tackles.

Purdue

In 2013, Freeman joined Purdue, where he coached linebackers and was later promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2016. During his time with the Boilermakers, he mentored several players who earned accolades. Ja'Whaun Bentley, a USA Today Freshman All-American in 2014, averaged 6.7 tackles per game under Freeman’s coaching and was voted a captain by his teammates prior to the 2015 season. Danny Ezechukwu broke out with a 43-tackle season as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and followed it up with 79 stops in 2015, the most by any of Purdue's linebackers and second on the team. Markus Bailey was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection in 2016. Bailey led the Boilermakers with 97 total tackles, 61 solo stops, and four interceptions in 2016. Jimmy Herman earned Purdue’s Guy "Red" Mackey Award and the Noble E. Kizer Award, for exemplifying the overall success of the University’s intercollegiate athletics program and earning the highest GPA among football players over the 2016 calendar year, respectively.

Cincinnati

In December 2016, Freeman joined the Cincinnati Bearcats football staff as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Luke Fickell. He transformed the Bearcats into one of the top defenses in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). In 2018, Freeman's defense led the AAC in rushing defense, scoring defense, and total defense, ranking among the top 15 in the NCAA FBS in all three categories. Before the end of the 2020 season, Freeman declined several positions to remain at Cincinnati, including offers from Ohio State, the Tennessee Titans, and Michigan State.

Notre Dame

Defensive Coordinator

On January 8, 2021, Freeman was hired as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Read also: The Rise of Marcus Mariota

Head Coach

Following Brian Kelly's departure in 2021, Freeman was named the head coach of Notre Dame on December 3, 2021. He took control immediately, coaching the Irish in their Fiesta Bowl loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State.

Freeman opened the 2022 season with losses to No. 2 Ohio State and Marshall. He gained his first win the following week against the California Golden Bears. Freeman's Irish finished the regular season ranked 19th with an 8-4 record, including a win over No. 5 Clemson.

Analysts anticipated the 2023 season would be a step forward for Freeman's Fighting Irish. During the offseason, they secured Wake Forest's Sam Hartman, the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal, 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. Following the season, Freeman fired wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey, prompting the departure of starting wide receivers Chris Tyree, Tobias Meriweather, and Rico Flores Jr. Freeman hired Mike Brown as the new receivers coach on December 10.

Freeman's 2024 squad started their campaign successfully on the road against No. 20 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas with a 23-13 win, but followed that victory up with a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois as a 29.5-point betting favorite, becoming the first AP Top 5 team to ever suffer a loss to a football team from the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Irish finished the regular season with a 10-game winning streak with wins over No. 15 Louisville, No. 24 Navy, No. The Irish were granted the 7th seed in the College Football Playoff, hosting their first-ever home playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium. Freeman would win his first playoff game with a 27-17 win over 10th-seeded Indiana. Originally Notre Dame was set to play the 2nd-seeded Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2025, but due to the 2025 New Orleans truck attack that happened near the Caesars 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-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl, advancing to the national title game for the first time in 12 years.

Notre Dame was ranked as the No. 6 Team in the preseason AP Poll. However, the Irish started the season 0-2 after No. 10 Miami hit a go-ahead field goal with 1:01 remaining in the fourth quarter and No. 16 Texas A&M scored a go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds remaining. In Week 8, the Irish won their first ranked game of the season by defeating No. 20 USC. Notre Dame set their modern-era scoring record by defeating Syracuse 70-7 in South Bend, marking the first time the team scored 70 points since 1932. Notre Dame concluded the season on a 10 game win streak with all wins coming by double figures after defeating Stanford 49-20. After finishing the regular season 10-2, the Irish opted out of participating in a bowl game after not being selected for the College Football Playoff.

Accolades and Achievements

Freeman's coaching achievements have been recognized with several awards. He was named the 2024 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year, 2024 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, and 2024 George Munger Coach of the Year. Additionally, he received the College Football Coach of the Year award from the NCMFC. In 2023, on offense, the Irish averaged 39.1 ppg, ranking second all-time in the history of the program as the 1912 team averaged 48.6 ppg over eight games. He mentored linebacker Jack Kiser to the AFCA Good Works Team. Ted Ginn Sr. Safety Xavier Watts earned consensus All-America honors in 2024. Alt went on to be drafted as the number four overall pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2024 NFL Draft, the highest selection for a Notre Dame player since Rick Mirer was selected second by the Chicago Bears in 1993.

In 2025, Freeman led Notre Dame to the national title game, where they faced his alma mater, Ohio State. Though the Buckeyes emerged victorious, Freeman's leadership and coaching acumen earned him widespread respect.

Personal Life

In 2010, Freeman married Joanna (née Herncane), whom he had dated since college. Together, they have six children. Freeman is also a practicing Catholic, having been received into the Catholic Church in 2022.

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