Marcus Freeman named Dick Corbett Head Football Coach

[NumbersGuy0520]

For a guy in his second full season that's supposedly "learning on the fly", Marcus Freeman is winning football games. You'd think that as he continues to grow and the program continues to develop, he's only going to get better and the wins are going to continue to pile up. I'm sure there will be plenty to bitch about regardless, but it sure is looking like these guys are playing for each other and for their coaches right now. Regardless of who did what and how long he'll be here, landing Sam Hartman, is proving to be one hell of a job.

There is a resilience here that I like. I don't get the impression Freeman will lose a locker room. He doesn't give off certain vibes we've had here previously and they're recruiting a certain type of kid that will stay in the fight. I like that.

We have a lot of guys on this site who like to only focus on the negative and not the whole picture. I’m not saying Freeman will certainly be the answer, but I’m also willing to admit that I don’t yet know, and there’s a lot at play here. But there are definitely a lot of positives that are being overlooked due to natty unrest + the heartbreak of the OSU loss.

- We just handed Duke their first loss in what was shaping up to be a 10-2 or better season for the Blue Devils (prior to Riley’s injury). In their house. And it was probably the biggest game for Duke in the last 30 years.
- We are sitting at 5-1 with an outside chance to make playoffs, despite the fact that we returned virtually no WR/TE production from last year.
- We’re 3 seconds away from 6-0 and probably being favored to make the playoffs at this point in time. (It’s going to really sting all over again when we finish 10-2 and this is what keeps us out)
- We finally have a top-tier QB just a year and a half after seeing BK + Tommy Rees depart. That’s no coincidence.
- We went 9-4 last year, with a win over top-4 Clemson, with Drew freaking Pyne as our QB.

Honestly, how many first-time coaches do we really think could come in and have this level of success?

MF is growing on the job, and we will continue to see mistakes like we did against OSU or Duke. We all expected this. The jury is still out on how much he grows or how quickly it happens. But I do think it’s way easier to learn how to game manage than to learn how to recruit or build a top-tier football program (two areas I think he’s killing it in), so I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[irishff1014]

This dude has an ability to recruit and be a great rep for the school. But his coaching seems to be getting worse. Come on Freeman we all want you here forever but you have to start getting better.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Yep. But he is beginning to remind me of Sanders in the general sense of excellent recruiting, excellent player relations, but badly needing outstanding coordinators and staff so as to allow him to merely administrate. (Obviously Sanders has WAY more extroversion than Freeman, but I'm talking about the necessity of being an organizational CEO and not a football game planner/in-game decision-maker.) Freeman is inherently likeable but we just might need more than that. Always hoping to be wrong about such things. Doesn't help ND to be "right."

 

[PutuporShutup]

Freeman might be stupid

 

[Sea Turtle]

Swarbrick needs to take it from both ends tonight

 

[irishff1014]

And Freeman stands there like we are winning. Chew someone out please

 

[Katzenboyer]

This is a poorly coached football team.

 

[SoIll]

From a guy who played linebacker at the biggest level. Dude is exceptionally soft.

 

[NDFAN2008]

It’s not his fault our players are dumb as hell

 

[fightingirish26]

He sure cares about how he looks.

Remember when he threw the first pitch out at the white sox and he kept saying 'just don't bounce it, just don't bounce it.'

 

[INLaw]

He gotta go. This is third marshall. Faust was a great guy too

 

[calvegas04]

It’s not his fault our players are dumb as hell

Yes it is

 

[calvegas04]

He is likeable, wears cool shit, the ladies like him. But he isn't a HC, this is too much for him. Let's reset

 

[IA4irish]

Dude needed to start as a head coach at low Power-5 level. Illinois or something would've been great for him. This is too big. 4 night games against ranked opponents. No way he could do it

 

[irishff1014]

I bet they don’t let the players pick the next coach.

 

[Junkhead]

Dude needed to start as a head coach at low Power-5 level. Illinois or something would've been great for him. This is too big. 4 night games against ranked opponents. No way he could do it

He is in over his head, no doubt, but who could handle this schedule when they wouldn't even sack up and hire him a competent OC. That said, I'm not even close to all in on Freeman. We always worry about recruiting classes, but good players always come to ND when things are looking up. Anyway, life goes on, I'm making chili tomorrow.

 

[IrishTusker]

Gerry Faust. If that.

 

[IrishLax]

At least Freeman isn't Mario Cristobal... holy shit.....

 

[NDPhilly]

Can't understate how snake-bitten we've been at WR. Thomas, Greathouse, and Colzie are likley our 3 most dependable WRs. Salerno is out, and our 5th year grad transfer Kaleb Smith also decided to fucking quit football.

We had a freshman walk-on play 30+ snaps tonight and looked like our most dependable target. Hartman looks like a different QB because of it.

That being said, Parker hire may very well be his undoing - you can't pair an inexperienced OC with a young, defensive focused HC. We needed an Al Golden-type that has the experience to control an entire side of the ball.

I personally dont think we're as far off as people think, as evidenced by the OSU game. This team ran out of steam in teh 2nd hald and i expect them to bounce back in the 2nd half of the season, as they did last year.

 

[IrishDan]

Freeman is an AWFUL coach! His coordinator hires are embarrassing and his lack of fire is on full display! Can he recruit - yes! Is he a nice guy - yes! Was he really that good of a DC - perhaps. But you need a dog for a coach. You need an asshole. You need a hard-nosed mf'er that doesn't take shit. BK was very close. That guy, for the most part, was a winner. He just sucked at recruiting.

This is who we will be until he leaves. Golden tries to run an NFL scheme - it isn't working dipshit. Parker is a buffoon who should've never been hired - that's on MF.

We will lose to SC...we will lose to Clemson. We will lose recruits...and frankly we deserve too. This is a dumpster fire of an offense.

 

[LSWho?]

That being said, Parker hire may very well be his undoing - you can't pair an inexperienced OC with a young, defensive focused HC. We needed an Al Golden-type that has the experience to control an entire side of the ball.

I personally dont think we're as far off as people think, as evidenced by the OSU game. This team ran out of steam in teh 2nd hald and i expect them to bounce back in the 2nd half of the season, as they did last year.

The problem is there's more offensive experience on the field than there is in the booth.

 

[PigtownIrish]

That being said, Parker hire may very well be his undoing - you can't pair an inexperienced OC with a young, defensive focused HC. We needed an Al Golden-type that has the experience to control an entire side of the ball.

It certainly destroyed this season. The offense has been inexcusably bad. Freeman could be a decent HC but (with the assist from Swarbrick) he failed his first huge hire and we just don't have the goodwill to squander.

 

[Luckylucci]

He sure cares about how he looks.

Remember when he threw the first pitch out at the white sox and he kept saying 'just don't bounce it, just don't bounce it.'

Well, he bounced it tonight.

 

[Terry Jillery]

It took Harbaugh several years to fix the disaster that Michigan slid themselves into. I feel we are headed in that direction where it’ll take the best coach in the country several years to fix us after hiring inexperienced coaches that are totally gutting our program.

 

[irishff1014]

You were embarrassed on national tv and have completely sucked the last 11 quarters and you are gonna smile in the press conference.

That’s a bad message.

 

[PutuporShutup]

You were embarrassed on national tv and have completely sucked the last 11 quarters and you are gonna smile in the press conference.

That’s a bad message.

I watched the pc, he was 100% confused. That’s scary. If you can’t clearly see what’s wrong with that abomination then you won’t ever figure it out… same crap since osu, got worse vs duke, got worse vs Louisville

Coaching disaster

 

[Terry Jillery]

Not saying I’d want this and it’s not even a possible scenario. But curious if you think we’d have a better team, if:

1. Golden was HC
2. Freeman was DC
3. Parker was TE coach
4. Deland or Gino was OC
5. Biagi was ball boy

 

[Giddyup]

Idk. Whole team was worse. O line was doing good all year then turned to ass last night.

 

[DillonHall]

Idk. Whole team was worse. O line was doing good all year then turned to ass last night.

They were pretty bad against Duke too

 

[AKRowdy]

Man, some of you guys are unbearable. Go outside. Touch some grass. Breath the fresh air. The world is still turning. It’s a game. Regroup and on to USC.