What motivates Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman to succeed?
Time was of the essence.
Marcus Freeman didn’t have much of it to waste. His parents flew in for his introductory press conference inside the Irish Athletic Center in December, but he barely spoke to them. He took a few photos with his wife and kids when he stepped down from the stage then quickly left them alone too.
There was business to take care of.
“We had our first team meeting right away, bam,” Freeman said on The Zorich Podcast. “I wanted to say, ‘Hey, it’s over.’ All the press conferences, everything is over. Let’s get to work. I’m gone for a week recruiting, but when I get back it’s go time.”
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Freeman left for the airport immediately after the meeting. Hours later, he was in the living room of Billy Schrauth securing a commitment from the four-star offensive lineman from Wisconsin. Some coaches might have taken a day to process becoming a college football head coach for the first time. Especially at 35 years old. Especially at a place like Notre Dame.
Not Freeman.
“He was just given the keys to one of the most historic programs in the history of college football, and oh by the way, within the next hour he’s on the trail recruiting,” Zorich said. “That in itself is awesome.”
“That’s who I am,” Freeman added. “I’m going to go as hard as I can. As hard as I possibly can until I look at my wife and say, ‘I can’t go that hard anymore.’ And at that point, when I can’t go as hard as I’ve been going, it’s probably time to stop. But I think that will be the moment when I look back and say, ‘Look how far we’ve come.'”
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The team meeting? That was to fulfill his highest tenet of coaching.
“The biggest part of my motivation is the players,” he said. “I don’t wake up every day and say, ‘If we win or lose, I will be fulfilled.’ No. What can I do today to make sure these players reach their goals? What can I do to make sure our players reach their football goals, their academic goals, their life goals? That’s what motivates me.
“Part of their football goals is winning the national championship. Well, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we are able to give that to our players. What you’re going to learn about Marcus Freeman is it’s never been about me. And it never will be about me. It is about making sure those around me reach their goals.”
Freeman loves his players. He’s a self-proclaimed “players’ coach.” But he also loves the process of pulling those players — the right ones for the University of Notre Dame — to the program. Notre Dame currently has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country according to On3 Consensus team rankings, and that didn’t transpire coincidentally.
There’s a lot of work that went into that and so much more will have to be done to maintain it. That starts — and finishes — with Freeman, the coach who’s going to continue going as hard as he can because it’s the only way he knows how to do it.
It’s who he is, after all.
“That’s the number one way you can enhance your program — talent acquisition,” Freeman said. “There is no other way that can truly enhance your program except for bringing in the best talent in the country. So we have to do that. And that’s always been my mindset.”
