Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Addresses 'Player's Coach' Label

When the Fighting Irish first hired Marcus Freeman, he was referred to as a "player's coach."

Last Friday, Marcus Freeman was officially named Notre Dame's new football coach. He's replacing one of the most successful coaches in the country in Brian Kelly.  

Shortly after the news broke, Freeman was labeled a "player's coach." While he certainly has a great connection with the players in the locker room, he wants to make it clear that he still expects his players to put in the work on a daily basis.

“Listen, I know I’ve been labeled as a player’s coach, and I’m proud to wear that badge,” Freeman wrote in an essay for The Players' Tribune. “But I’ll be honest, I think there’s a misconception about a player’s coach, that ‘Oh, the players like him — he’s their buddy.’ And my players know this: just because I don’t walk around like I have to put fear in their hearts, that doesn’t mean the demands aren’t going to be extremely high. 

“I’ve always been a believer that being a coach doesn’t mean there has to be some constant level of discomfort for kids to reach their goals. You can be very demanding, and still make people feel good and still make people feel important — as long as they believe that you have their best interest at heart. That’s the coach I’ve always been, and I’m going to stay true to that. These kids today are so smart. They’re so intelligent, and they know what’s real and what’s phony. If you’re not authentic they’ll see right through you.” 

“We’re right there, man. We’re ready.”

A message to @NDFootball, from new head coach @Marcus_Freeman1. https://t.co/WDy8pkJvod

— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) December 7, 2021

As for Freeman's future in South Bend, he believes Notre Dame has the right pieces in place to win a national title. 

“This team is in a really good position right now,” Freeman said. “We’re 11–1. And through that brief window of chaos we experienced last week, I said to our leadership, look, we need to enhance — but we don’t need to change. There are key parts of this coaching staff that have gotten us to this point. I think we have the best coaching staff in America. And to the 'bring in your own guys' crowd, I’ll just say: These coaches we have here are my guys. So that was my M.O. as this was all coming together. I was hoping to keep as much consistency for this group as possible. Because we’re right there, man. We’re ready. We’re extremely close to being in a position to win a National Championship.” 

Freeman will get to showcase his coaching abilities when Notre Dame takes on Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. 

• Irish Breakdown: Five Keys to Marcus Freeman Bringing a Championship Program to Notre Dame
• Mark Emmert Calls Being a University President 'Hardest Job in America'
• South Dakota's Hail Mary Wins SI's Play of the Year
• Bowl Watchability Rankings: One Reason to Tune In to Every Matchup

For more news on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, head over to Irish Breakdown.