How Former Ohio State Coach Pushed Marcus Freeman Towards Notre Dame

Choosing between job offers at college football powerhouses Notre Dame and LSU, an Ohio State legend guided Freeman to South Bend

Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman celebrates at the 90th annual Sun Bowl game against Oregon State on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, at El Paso, Texas. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA

Imagine for a second that after Ed Orgeron was let go at LSU that defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman took the post as LSU head coach.

Does your head hurt a little bit thinking about that?

Then perhaps you should thank former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Had it not been for a late night phone call in late 2020 to Tressel, Freeman was extremely interested in taking an offer to be the defensive coordinator at LSU that off-season, instead of at Notre Dame.

Freeman joined Tressel on his former head coach's Its All About the Team podcast and the two discussed the difficulty of that decision and how the former head coach advised his former player.

"I remember it being like an 11 o'clock at night conversation with you," said Tressel, "I'm like, come on, it's Notre Dame!"

Tressel added that Freeman sounded like a recruit while discussing the great facilities at LSU after his visit to Baton Rouge.

"I remember my wife talking to me after our conversation and there are very few people that I trust to talk to about something like that and you're one of them," Freeman told Tressel, "I thought at the beginning he(Tressel) was telling me to go to LSU but I don't know, by the end I thought he was telling me Notre Dame was the right place".

Freeman stated how the process brought him back to his time as a highly sought-after linebacker during his high school playing days.

"Ultimately it was like being a recruit. Excited when you leave South Bend, you were emotional when you leave Baton Rouge."

So why Notre Dame over LSU?

"We had to make a decision that we felt was right for the present and for the future and that's why we chose to go there (Notre Dame)".

A choice that the Freeman family might not have seen as clearly if not for the friendly guidance of Tressel.

What Freeman Told Notre Dame Football Team After Marshall Upset

The outlook for Notre Dame football under Marcus Freeman wasn't always sunshine and daisies like it largely feels like entering his third season. Just three games into his run enough frustration to fill a warehouse hit Notre Dame.

The Irish were 0-2 on the 2022 season, 0-3 under Freeman who played a part in the Irish coughing up the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma State, and had just been upset by Marshall in South Bend.

What was going through Freeman's head following the stunning loss?

"Every loss is low but you start to question what do I have? What do I have to do to figure this thing out?"

Freeman did know one thing he needed to do though, and it needed to be obvious to all the day following the defeat.

"I knew that when I came in on Sunday that I had to come into that meeting that I had the confidence that I had the answers," said Freeman, "Here's why we didn't have success, here's what we didn't do, now let's double down and go back to work"

"If I walked in there and I screamed and started blaming the players or I started saying 'I don't know what's going on, why we're not winning' now we've lost any confidence from the players so I did that and that's why I learned - in the toughest moments they need leadership, they need somebody in front of them saying 'we're fine, trust me, let's go!"

Freeman's message was received as Notre Dame would win nine of its final 11 games to finish his first full season 9-3 overall.

"If you listen to the opinions of people you'd never take advice from then you've lost confidence in yourself".

What Freeman Learned From Brian Kelly

Freeman has been at Notre Dame longer already without Brian Kelly than he was with Kelly. Despite that, Freeman clearly took away some important lessons from his one season under Notre Dame's all-time winningest head football coach.

"He was very clear in his messaging - everyone knew what his philosophy was, what his vision was, what his process was. It was very clear and he was unwavering in that."

"He also let you coach. He wouldn't come in the defensive staff and say 'do this, this, and this,' he'd challenge you at times but do this but, he'd come and say 'we're struggling here' in the previous game and say 'what are you going to do'...he was great at keeping everyone together"

The entire episode is worth a listen, especially for Ohio State fans who have fonder memories of the team's Freeman played on under Tressel. It concludes with Tressel putting on some Notre Dame gear that Freeman gifted him and the mutual love and respect between the two is evident throughout.

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