Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick joins Twitter, pens impactful first tweet
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and Irish head coach Marcus Freeman both tried something new on Friday.
Swarbrick joined Twitter, and his first tweet is a call to action for his newly appointed head coach.
The two leaders are pictured in front of a collection of helmets from Notre Dame’s Shamrock Series games, contests in which they don alternate uniforms.
“Marcus’ ability to connect with people, his fit at Notre Dame and the way he coaches young men set him apart as we went through our search process,” Swarbrick said in a statement on Friday. “I can’t wait to see how the culture created by these remarkable student-athletes continues to grow under the tutelage of Marcus and his staff.”
Freeman is the second head coach Swarbrick has chosen at Notre Dame, as he also led the search for former head coach Brian Kelly in 2010. He has been in his position since 2008 and holds a Notre Dame undergraduate degree.
The new head coach will be formally introduced at a press conference on Monday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Details of his contract are currently unavailable.
Irish seeking third playoff appearance
Freeman will spend his first weekend as the Notre Dame head coach with his eyes on the AAC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC championship games.
Notre Dame currently sits at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, so they need some help from those in front of them. Either No. 1 Georgia or No. 3 Alabama has to lose when they play on Saturday, but the Irish would prefer an Alabama loss. The Crimson Tide would then have two losses, and a two-loss team has never made the playoff. Barring complete chaos, that seems like to continue this year.
No. 2 Michigan and No. 5 Oklahoma State each have a loss of their own, while No. 4 Cincinnati remains undefeated. The Bearcats have one of the best wins in the country this year, their 24-13 victory at Notre Dame Stadium in early October.
Should Notre Dame sneak into the playoff field, it would be their third CFP appearance in four years. The games, which are the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl this year, will be played on Dec. 31. Should Notre Dame not make the playoff, they are likely headed to the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Bowl games will be finalized on Sunday following the conclusion of this weekend’s conference championship games.