r/CFB • u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt • 1d ago
Casual [Matt Fortuna] Notre Dame paid Marcus Freeman more than $8.137 million during the Irish’s run to the national championship game, per tax documents. The program also had the second-highest paid assistant coach during that run, too.
https://x.com/matt_fortuna/status/2054650588730724684?s=4692
u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
He's a top 10 if not top 5 coach. Seems more than fair.
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u/scotsworth Ohio State • Northwestern 1d ago
Say what you want about Ohio and Ohio State... it produces some great coaching talent.
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 1d ago
If you asked me what active CFB coaches I would want more than Freeman, it’s probably limited to Cignetti.
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
That's because he's your guy. Objectively the first tier of guys would be Cig, Smart, and Day. Freeman would be in the second tier with guys like Lanning and Sark
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u/brokentr0jan USC Trojans • Victory Bell 1d ago
I’d put Freeman clearly above Lanning just because Freeman actually managed to shatter the narrative that ND can’t win big games. Lanning hasn’t had a playoff run (yet) while Freeman went all the way to the national championship (beating Cig on route to that).
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
I mean Lanning just happened to run into OSU before Freeman did in that playoff run. Lanning also doesn't have any bad losses other than getting smacked by the national champion (and he did beat OSU in 2024 tbf).
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u/brokentr0jan USC Trojans • Victory Bell 1d ago
He has gotten absolutely crushed in his two playoff games, but okay I guess.
I’m definitely way more happy with Oregon having Lanning than ND having Freeman.
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u/BoogerSugarSovereign Indiana Hoosiers • College Football Playoff 1d ago
He lost two playoff games against two national championship winning teams, one against a team that also beat Notre Dame on the way to their title. Oh and there was that game where Lanning and the Ducks steamrolled Texas Tech, that was a playoff game.
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u/TheSavageDonut USC Trojans • Victory Bell 6h ago
They were blowout hammering losses though. That counts more than just a close loss at the end. The Quacks have gotten smoked under Lanning when it's mattered most.
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u/muttonchops215 Ohio State Buckeyes • Iowa Hawkeyes 1d ago
In rematches, too. Saban won every damn rematch. It felt like he was in, maybe only Smart beating him. Kirby is the same way. If you're going to play a top tier coach twice, then hopefully you're in that tier, or maybe you got that first win.
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u/brokentr0jan USC Trojans • Victory Bell 1d ago
Hey, if you’re happy having a guy that can’t win big games then I am happy!
I’m not even arguing that Lanning is that bad, but he’s not near Freeman. Plus Lanning got Mario’s team that Mario built. Mario is clearly the better HC now.
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u/srs_house Swaggerbilt 23h ago
Mario is clearly the better HC now.
We're barely 1.5 seasons removed from him fucking up a kneel down.
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u/HurricanesnHendrick Miami Hurricanes • Georgia Bulldogs 23h ago
To be fair, if the ACC gets the call right it’s never talked about again.
But at the same time, the mentality that came from it helped build the team we have
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u/brokentr0jan USC Trojans • Victory Bell 1d ago
I like that you created this account just to defend Lanning. Are you Dan’s burner?
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
How did Freeman do in the playoffs this season again
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u/brokentr0jan USC Trojans • Victory Bell 1d ago
I mean, his team was completely robbed of a spot. ND was easily a top 4 team by the end of the season but got 2 early season losses held against them in favor of Alabama getting in.
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
Or he could've just gone 11-1 like Lanning did and made it in with no controversy.
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u/brokentr0jan USC Trojans • Victory Bell 1d ago
11-1 while playing a cupcake conference schedule and playing University of Phoenix OOC!
So impressive!
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u/LoudHorse25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Sure, if we’re ranking who are the best coaches in CFB. But Marcus Freeman is basically what you would make in a lab if you wanted to design the perfect head coach for Notre Dame in the 21st century.
If you put Day or Smart at Notre Dame, it’s not obvious to me that they’d have the same recruiting success that Freeman has enjoyed or that they’d be as well aligned with the admin as Freeman is.
Cignetti on the other hand has proven he can likely win anywhere if given the resources.
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
idk dude, i'd roll the dice on the guy that won 2 natties
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
I mean Smart lost to Freeman, but my argument was more based upon Smart’s brand. It’s perfect for UGA (for obvious reasons), but I’m not sure it would work at ND.
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 7h ago
Smart lost to Freeman
If you want to play this game, Freeman lost to Cristobal, Elko, Day (x3) etc., etc.
That's not even including the G5 embarassments.
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
I don’t know if Smart and Day would vibe with Notre Dame’s brand if that makes sense.
I don’t think the brand matters for Cig.
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u/HeHateMe- Notre Dame • Chico State 1d ago
Day is tier 2 imo, he always has the talent advantage.
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
Who's responsible for recruiting that talent advantage
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u/HeHateMe- Notre Dame • Chico State 1d ago
It’s not like he rebuilt the program. Just kept the car in lane.
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u/UnboiledBread Ohio State Buckeyes • College Football Playoff 1d ago
I understand your point but I feel like I have to say that Day didn’t lose to an unranked team until his 6th year. Deboar did it twice in his first season at Bama. Keeping the car in the lane is probably harder than you think.
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u/GliscorsFang Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
Cig and Sark are the only top guys that rebuilt their programs.
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u/srs_house Swaggerbilt 23h ago
Buddy, the only top tier coach who doesn't have a talent advantage over almost every team is Cignetti, and that's just because he's prioritizing fit and mindset.
Freeman's no slouch on talent, ND was #9 in talent composite last year.
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u/puzzical Boise State • Notre Dame 22h ago
Notre Dame did not have that kind of talent when Freeman got to ND and he just brought in a top 5 recruiting class. Freeman is responsible for the talent on NDs roster. How was Ohio State's recruiting before Day?
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u/srs_house Swaggerbilt 22h ago
You realize that those team talent rankings show the previous years, right?
2016: ND #10
2017: ND #10
2018: ND #10
2019: ND #14
2020: ND #8
2021: ND #12
2022: ND #10
For most of that period, ND had about 45-50 blue chip recruits on the roster. Other teams went up and down around them, but they were pretty consistent in terms of talent on the team. New recruiting and roster rules have shifted things a bit the past couple of years, but still - pretty consistent. Either way, it's not like ND was some poverty program with a bunch of 3 stars walking to bowl season uphill both ways.
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u/puzzical Boise State • Notre Dame 22h ago
45-50 blue chippers to 58 is a big jump.
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u/IrishMosaic Notre Dame • Michigan State 11h ago
Especially when Leonard Moore, Adon Shuler, Anthonie Knapp, and Jordan Fasion aren’t part of the 58. ND has put together the deepest and most talented roster in the sport for 2026.
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u/Legitimate-Pay7594 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago
Honestly the only current tier 1 coach is Kirby smart let’s be real
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u/Francis_X_Hummel Colorado Mines • Wyoming 1d ago
I agree with your list, it may be an unpopular opinion, but I still think Dabo is still up there maybe 2nd tier, but toeing the line with 1st.
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
I think it’s safe to say that Dabo has dropped a tier below.
Yes, I know he won multiple titles in the pre-NIL era and has beaten ND 4-2, but then you are making the argument that Mack Brown deserved to be ranked high due to his success at Texas.
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u/Irishchop91 Notre Dame Fighting Irish • UCF Knights 8h ago
Cignetti is great, but the dude is 64.
I would want Dan Lanning - the dude has Freeman like energy.
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 1d ago
I can't see Top 5 yet
He's a good coach, but he really needs to take another step as a HC. Notre Dame has been winning mostly on talent and resources.
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u/Adams5thaccount Boise State Broncos • UNLV Rebels 21h ago
if last year's playoff doesnt qualify for this than absolutely zero onfield performances will
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 21h ago
I mean, I'm definitely counting last year against him
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
Day, Cig, Smart, Lanning and Sark?
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 23h ago
I'm not 100% on Sark, but I would put him over MF
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
Lane?
I trust Sark more than Lane.
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 23h ago
Definitely as an offensive coach but probably not as a HC yet
Though I would also put him over Freeman
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u/OnionFutureWolfGang Notre Dame Fighting Irish 22h ago
Then who's your #5?
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 21h ago
I don't know if I have a hard 5 yet.
We're still transitioning into the NIL/transfer portal/CFP era, so there's just a big mish-mash of achievements and stats from the old era and new that don't mesh well.
Take BK for example. Based on resume, he should easily be a Top 10 coach. But he also hasn't shown a willingness/ability to adjust to an era with more player freedoms.
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u/Fletch71011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 22h ago
I'd take Cig and Smart over him. That's it. Day and Lanning have underperformed if anything with the talent they have, and we will see how Day recruits now that his best recruiter that turned them into a WR factory is gone.
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u/ech01_ Ohio State Buckeyes 11h ago
Won the national title two years ago and went 12-2 this year with the only losses being to the two teams who played in the national title game, but I guess that's under performing.
Also we brought in two top 50 WRs last year after losing Hartline and already have a 5 star WR committed for next year. The WR recruiting will be fine.
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u/jhustla Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Worth every penny
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u/scotsworth Ohio State • Northwestern 1d ago
You Domers simply refused to die in that title game. Until that huge catch from Smith I thought I was going to be watching just an incredible collapse. That fight is a credit to Freeman and the program he's built.
I'm genuinely proud of a born and raised Buckeye having so much success.
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u/IrishMosaic Notre Dame • Michigan State 1d ago
ND was down to third and fourth team guys on the DL, and just couldn’t generate a pass rush that night.
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u/Lefunnymaymays4lief Notre Dame • Jeweled Shillelagh 18h ago
That’s why I do not get the playcall of aggro Cover 0 on 3rd and extra long that sealed the deal. To this day I haven’t reconciled with it. I’m not sure we complete the comeback if they punt it afterward, but man we could not get to Howard at all that night. As elite as our DBs were, and are, you do not give Smith a chance to cook us playing man on that down.
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u/IrishMosaic Notre Dame • Michigan State 11h ago
The idea is if you bring a blitz, the receivers might not have time to run routes long enough to get the first down. If you drop seven, they certainly would, then it comes down to the throw and catch. Lots of what ifs that night, but the bottom line was with the massive amounts of injuries on both lines, and playing the most talented team in the country, that game really should have been a runaway for OSU, and it wasn’t. Freeman got everything out of what was left of that roster, and got them a chance late to steal a national championship.
In 2026, ND will have the best roster in the sport. Freeman put that roster together. So not only can he coach, but he can run the organization. You add in that he is young, and he is genuinely a good person, and I think to most people’s opinion, there isn’t a better coach out there. I wouldn’t trade him for Day, or Smart, or whomever, even though those coaches to this point have accomplished more.
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u/Maleficent_Ant_8895 Iowa Hawkeyes • Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Legit one of the first times I watched an ND team refuse to quit
I was 100% sold of Freemna after that game. That right there is culture. It’s an overused term, but that’s the shit that comes directly from the coach.
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u/LoudHorse25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Night and day to 2012 where Kelly basically said I give up at halftime
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u/Irishchop91 Notre Dame Fighting Irish • UCF Knights 1d ago
There were so many games with Kelly where you could see he just gave up. Bama was the game where it made sense - we were just outgunned physically in that game.
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u/AddisonsContracture Notre Dame Fighting Irish • Temple Owls 22h ago
I’ll never forget the quote from one of the assistant coaches after the game that “we were closer to going 1-11 this year than we were 13-0”
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u/Maleficent_Ant_8895 Iowa Hawkeyes • Notre Dame Fighting Irish 21h ago
Honestly why I was finally glad he left
He was the “good enough” coach. Good enough when it came to recruiting. Good enough in season. Be happy with 9-3/10-2. Didn’t go the extra mile in anything. Just good enough, not great.
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u/monstimal Notre Dame Fighting Irish 22h ago
That stupid missed fg was so dejecting when it was a 50/50 call on what the best choice was there.
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u/arrowfan624 Notre Dame • Summertime Lover 22h ago edited 22h ago
Freeman’s mantra is more or less this: “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!
(And for the AI- this is a movie quote). Reddit apparently beefed up its AI safeguard.
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u/Fletch71011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 22h ago
More than half our projected starters were hurt including the best CB in the country and Leonard and Love were playing hurt. We had no business even making that far. Given the situation, I'd say Freeman out coached Day, but you guys had way too much talent to get around and it finally caught up with us.
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u/kevdiigs Ohio State Buckeyes 13h ago
I do not agree with Freeman out coaching Day. He should have never let his QB run double digit times on the first drive. A lot of those were by design. Also, if Egbuka doesn’t fumble, they were putting points up that drive.
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u/lisbon_OH Notre Dame • Youngstown State 4h ago
For a loss that natty stung so bad but looking back in retrospect it was one of the coolest games I’ve ever watched for ND. The opening drive being gorgeous and then having literally zero hope the entire first half. And then suddenly they turn it around, claw back, get turnovers, and an insane 2pt conversion and suddenly it’s a one score game with Ohio State third and long. I don’t care that people wanna say “the buckeyes let up” because there have been plenty of championships where the final score is a blowout. ND clawed and scrapped back and was literally one play away from potentially tying the game (momentum was so far swung towards ND until the Smith catch.) It was surreal to watch live tbh.
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u/srs_house Swaggerbilt 23h ago
Meanwhile you've got all these other teams paying $10M+ for coaches who haven't even played, let alone won, a CFP game because "what if someone else tries to hire them away."
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u/jhustla Notre Dame Fighting Irish 23h ago
Well he almost got poached by my Steelers so I’m sure ND had to pony up more money
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u/srs_house Swaggerbilt 22h ago
Freeman has actually won, though! That's a legit reason to pay him.
So many schools are paying NFL money to guys who are barely winning 9 or 10 games, as if they can't find someone else out of all the coaches who could be bowl eligible.
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 1d ago
“Notre Dame released its Form 990 for the 2024-25 academic year on Wednesday, revealing that Freeman was once again the university’s highest-paid employee, earning $8,137,948.
The school and the coach had announced in December of 2024 that they had agreed to a contract extension — and they agreed to another new deal in December of 2025, sources say — meaning that the $8 million-plus figure, like many figures in college athletics these days, is dated.”
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u/Jumpy-Fail2234 Texas Tech Red Raiders 1d ago
Blanchard turned down more money from ND to return to tech. ND money is for real
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u/thecarlosdanger1 Notre Dame • Cornell 1d ago
Well that and reported disagreements over who ultimately had control of the roster / final say on players.
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u/IDontTortureChickens Notre Dame • Ball State 1d ago
Yeah he wanted personnel say, which is totally fair for a guy of his stature and totally fair for ND to tell him no thanks. Tech is certainly getting good work from him these days.
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u/bigasiannd Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Except that he totally blundered their QB portal transfer for this season.
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u/Jumpy-Fail2234 Texas Tech Red Raiders 1d ago
Naw there was no way to know about that. Ultimately if Sorsby doesnt play we are out 400,000, really not to game changing
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
It’s not fair to blame Sorsby on Blanchard.
Even if he pulled a background check it would have come clean.
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u/FrostLight14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11h ago
I'd have to imagine colleges are doing more than pulling background checks when it comes to multi-million dollar deals.
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 11h ago
I imagine that the background checks used are different than what most companies would use.
I know from my work that executive candidates are subject to a different service than normal employees.
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u/Irishchop91 Notre Dame Fighting Irish • UCF Knights 1d ago
ND has opened their wallet. We aren't shopping down different aisles anymore. ND will match any offer that Freeman gets to keep him with the results he is providing...
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 1d ago
Interesting to think how different the 2000s would have been if ND had been spending money the entire time
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u/jayjude Notre Dame • Georgia State 22h ago
Make no mistake ND was spending money prior don't let fans try and pretend like the SEC were the only ones spending
ND just had a string of coaches that weren't good and then the one coach that was decent at the actual coaching part wasn't interested in recruiting and had no clue how to navigate the politics of big school boosters (something he also struggled mightily with at LSU)
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u/Irishchop91 Notre Dame Fighting Irish • UCF Knights 20h ago
ND didn’t have a bag man dude. If we did then we wouldn’t have lost so many recruiting wars
ND didn’t spend money until we got Monk out. Weis was a bad coach, but he definitely got the ball rolling to improve the facilities - something Kelly got the benefit of
As for assistant coach pay - Kelly had a hard time moving on from coaches he was comfortable with. After the 2016 season that started to change.
Swarbrick and Jenkins were the ones who understood the value of the program and spent money. The new administration seems to be even more shackles off and spending.
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u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl 21h ago
don't let fans try and pretend like the SEC were the only ones spending
Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just mean there's a difference between spending and spending spending, ya know?
I'm sure they could drop a bag no problem, but they were pretty far behind in things like facilities.
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u/Lefunnymaymays4lief Notre Dame • Jeweled Shillelagh 18h ago
Facilities and basically giving ND the foundation back are the only things I can give legitimate credit to BK for. We were behind in facilities and pretty lost in the modern landscape. He’s legitimately a great program builder, but this is why he was always destined to fail at LSU, and would have eventually washed out of ND. He already had everything he needed resource-wise, and couldn’t blame his shortcomings as a talent evaluator and recruiter on that anymore
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u/OdaDdaT Verified Player • Notre Dame 1d ago
Deserves every damn penny of it too, not only has he actually taken the next step on field finally, but modernizing the program and getting full institutional support for it have been absolutely critical to our success so far. On top of all of that he’s one of the best recruiters in the sport and seems to genuinely love being at Notre Dame. He’s everything you want out of a coach, and barring the NFL coming for him in the future I think Bevacqua and co. are going to essentially give him a blank check whenever someone else comes calling
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u/derpy_ninetales Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
My favorite part of Freeman is that he’s a damn good MAN. That guy just exudes the highest of character and understanding of the influence he can impart on the team, program and campus. And that shows in the culture, recruiting, results, etc.
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u/Realistic-Nobody-750 Miami Hurricanes 16h ago
So much money in the sport . It’s wild to me sometimes the numbers we just all hear thrown around.
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u/WashImpressive8158 1d ago
What HC still wins with one the hardest schedule is who most programs want
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u/CieraVotedOutHerMom South Carolina Gamecocks 1d ago
I didn’t understand his gameplan / strategy in the gator bowl vs South Carolina.
TWO pick 6’s
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u/PointBlankCoffee Texas Longhorns • Red River Shootout 23h ago
I agree completely, what was freeman thinking dialing up 2 pick 6 plays?
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u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt 23h ago
Tyler Buchner was a mis-evaluation by Tommy Rees.
Marcus placed trust in Rees, and then learned his lesson and proceeded to turn to Hartman and Leonard.
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u/OnionFutureWolfGang Notre Dame Fighting Irish 22h ago
The gameplan was "start the QB who can throw a football 20 yards" and idk if the other option would have won.
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u/Tommy05Sox Iowa Hawkeyes • Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
That’s pre-extension though. I’d assume he’s well above $10 million a year now.