Notre Dame Football Legend Joe Montana Praises Head Coach Marcus Freeman

Football legend shares big time praise for Fighting Irish coach

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers former quarterback Joe Montana cheers in the first quarter in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

How would you grade Marcus Freeman to date as he's entering his all-important third season as Notre Dame's head coach?

There have been triumphs, disappointments, recruiting successes and flops.

Through 27 games as Notre Dame's head coach, he sits with a record of 19-8. A solid record but by Notre Dame standards, hardly special.

Despite that, Notre Dame and NFL legend Joe Montana is all-in on Freeman.

Notre Dame Football's New Ireland Documentary

Notre Dame recently released a short documentary on its YouTube channel that highlighted all of the work it took to host a home game in Dublin, Ireland in 2023.

The Irish Are Home is worth your time if you've got roughly a half hour and are hungry for Notre Dame football, specifically.

While the point of the documentary is to tell the story of taking an entire football team overseas to play a game, one of the main takeaways had nothing to do with Ireland.

It was the comments Montana made about Marcus Freeman that caught my attention.

Joe Montana on Marcus Freeman

Apr 20, 2024; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman watches in the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Montana didn't hold back the praise when he spoke about Notre Dame's head football coach.

"I think he (Freeman) brings a different element," said Montana, "he's got a different approach to it and a great discipline of the guys. I think the guys believe in him and there is no phoniness about him."

That's a quote from a legend that would probably make Freeman rather happy to hear, but Montana added more.

"He's what the Notre Dame head coach should look like."

Joe Montana was part of Notre Dame's Ireland trip in 2023

The fact that one of the most legendary players to ever play for one of college football's most popular teams attended a game of said team isn't exactly newsworthy in most cases.

It was in 2023 when Joe Montana was working with Guinness and the Notre Dame game in Ireland was used as a way for the former signal caller to help push product.

It also made for Montana's first trip to a Notre Dame football game in quite some time according to Pete Sampson of The Athletic, who spoke to Montana that game weekend.

Spent a little time with Montana on Friday and asked about that. The Kelly relationship basically soured him on Notre Dame. He couldn’t remember the last Notre Dame game he attended. But he did develop a relationship with Freeman in the past year.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) August 27, 2023

Joe Montana's Animosity Towards Notre Dame

So why did Joe Montana have ill-will towards former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly?

Let's go back to 2008, two years before Brian Kelly's first season at Notre Dame.

Joe's son Nate Montana joined the Notre Dame football program in 2008 as a preferred walk-on under then-head coach Charlie Weis. Weis and Montana being roommates during their time as Notre Dame students was often referenced during the Weis years.

Nate Montana, however, found himself buried on the depth chart and had hopes of earning a football scholarship. He spent 2009 at Pasadena City College before heading back to Notre Dame for 2010, Kelly's first season.

Dayne Crist began 2010 as Notre Dame's starting quarterback but was forced out of the second game of the season against Michigan. Montana came in to relieve Crist and struggled to get the offense going, completing just 8 of 17 passes for 104 yards and an interception in a game Notre Dame would ultimately lose in heartbreaking fashion.

Montana would play just one more game with the Fighting Irish, completing his only pass attempt in a mid-October victory over Western Michigan.

After the season, Nate Montana transferred to Montana for the 2011 season before finishing his football career at West Virginia Wesleyan in 2012.

What exactly happened to cause the Montana-Kelly rift is unclear, but Joe made it clear there was one in 2011 according to IrishCentral.com:

At a luncheon in Rochester New York he was asked whether he would ever become Athletic Director at Notre Dame “You’re asking me at absolutely the wrong time.” he told the questioner.

"What happened with my son and the reasons for leaving Notre Dame shouldn’t happen to any kid,’’ he said. “At this point in time, it’s hard to be in their corner.’’

Joe Montana Still Seems To Love Notre Dame

Regardless of what Montana said publicly about Notre Dame or its head coach in the past, that seems to be all in the past now.

Montana was clear in the video in supporting and being a fan of Marcus Freeman and that's not just something he says.

Montana actually acts it as he made an effort to get to Notre Dame Stadium last fall to watch the Irish put an end to USC's undefeated season. He then took time to celebrate with the team following the game.

Feels good to be back in South Bend with my family and @NDFootball #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/Xqu0gC8N8P

— Joseph Montana (@JoeMontana) October 15, 2023

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