Marcus Freeman Revisited

[ThePiombino]

I love MF the person, but MF the head coach appears to be in over his head. I would take him all day as a DC but not HC.

I'm starting to get here. I REALLY want MF to succeed (he's just so likeable), but even more than that - I want ND to win again before I die. I would love to share that with my kids.

I really need him to show me that he has the intestinal fortitude to make the truly difficult decisions, relationships be damned, that it takes to be an elite program. If he has learned anything in 3 years then he will be opening up the QB competition 100%, effective immediately. And if RL is the 4th best QB on the team, move him to the scout team.

There is still a season to be salvaged and a ton of upperclassmen who deserve better than this. He needs to do right by them 1st and foremost.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[IrishTusker]

Yup. Tell me you're a dei hire without telling me you're a dei hire.

He wasn't a DEI hire, to be clear. He was a classic ND lazy internal hire. The current and previous ADs had no prior AD experience. They are lawyers who were hired because they went to ND. Parker is another example. Etc., etc.

Swarbrick seemed to have no idea what to do after BK left and reached for the easy, win-the-PR-game option. That was Freeman.

 

[notredomer23]

Unpopular but now a day removed, I am firmly not out on Freeman yet. His biggest problem is winning the easy games. He has this team up for the big games like I have never had an ND coach in my lifetime. Winning the "easy" games is very fixable.

Now, when I say yet, he needs to essentially win out because ND IS more talented than the rest of the schedule. USC will be a tough game, but this goes back to my initial point that he has the team up for the big games. If they don't win that game, then there goes them being "up" for the big games.

10-2 with 1 of the losses being NIU simply isn't good enough in year 3.

 

[domerfreak]

He wasn't a DEI hire, to be clear. He was a classic ND lazy internal hire. The current and previous ADs had no prior AD experience. They are lawyers who were hired because they went to ND. Parker is another example. Etc., etc.

Swarbrick seemed to have no idea what to do after BK left and reached for the easy, win-the-PR-game option. That was Freeman.

Whatever helps you sleep at night...

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Well the good news is that extension everyone was talking about after aTm last week just got cheaper

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Freeman is an idiot. He said in the press conference that after half time they what to take some shots and run the ball.

They did neither! They ran the ball very little and they took one shot and it was under thrown by 5 yards.

That was not under thrown by 5 yards. That should have been almost 10 yards a head of Mitchell to lead him
That's 15 yards minimum under thrown

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

Out of 100s of possible ways that game plays out, the ND coaching staff seemed to pick the singular way to lose

 

[NDRock]

Dabo wasn't losing games to sun belt teams

Yeah, he usually struggled in the big games. I don't actually think Freeman will be the next Dabo just that it was the absolute best case scenario with the way he coaches. Looks like he'll just be another mediocre guy.

 

[Hautian Domer]

Unpopular but now a day removed, I am firmly not out on Freeman yet. His biggest problem is winning the easy games. He has this team up for the big games like I have never had an ND coach in my lifetime. Winning the "easy" games is very fixable.

Now, when I say yet, he needs to essentially win out because ND IS more talented than the rest of the schedule. USC will be a tough game, but this goes back to my initial point that he has the team up for the big games. If they don't win that game, then there goes them being "up" for the big games.

10-2 with 1 of the losses being NIU simply isn't good enough in year 3.

What “big games” as he won? A middle of the road SEC team? A 8 win USC team? Want me to resist the 10 man debacle (which is a coaching error)?

We acted like we won the damn Super Bowl beating A&M, a team that’s never even won their own division.

 

[notredomer23]

What “big games” as he won? A middle of the road SEC team? A 8 win USC team? Want me to resist the 10 man debacle (which is a coaching error)?

a top 10 Clemson team? Going into OSU and being there the whole game? Sure the OSU game past year had an error, but they were up for it and you can't deny that. Completely obliterating the reigning Heisman Trophy winner? BK loses Texas A&M and Clemson 2022. He gets killed at OSU in 2022. BK would have won Marshall and NIU though, so there's that!

And maybe that's a low standard that me saying "up" for big games unlike any other coaches in my lifetime, but I am too young to remember pre-Willingham really so my fandom has been pretty much suffering through blowouts in big games.

 

[IrishTusker]

a top 10 Clemson team? Going into OSU and being there the whole game? Sure the OSU game past year had an error, but they were up for it and you can't deny that. Completely obliterating the reigning Heisman Trophy winner? BK loses Texas A&M and Clemson 2022. He gets killed at OSU in 2022. BK would have won Marshall and NIU though, so there's that!

Freeman appears to be a marginal improvement over Kelly. I'd rather go 11-1 and lose to NIU but win the "big" games than go 11-1 and lose the biggest game on the schedule. So that's a marginal improvement. But Freeman actually hasn't gone 11-1 yet. That's why he only appears to be a marginal improvement.

I'm not optimistic when the team can inexplicably lay an egg as a heavy favorite. OSU, Georgia, etc., do not do that.

 

[JadedDomer]

 

[notredomer23]

Freeman appears to be a marginal improvement over Kelly. I'd rather go 11-1 and lose to NIU but win the "big" games than go 11-1 and lose the biggest game on the schedule. So that's a marginal improvement. But Freeman actually hasn't gone 11-1 yet. That's why he only appears to be a marginal improvement.

I'm not optimistic when the team can inexplicably lay an egg as a heavy favorite. OSU, Georgia, etc., do not do that.

Idk if he's an improvement and I am certainly not optimistic, but I am also not going to do a complete 180 on him after one game when the whole world and majority of the fanbase was praising him before Saturday at 3:30. There's lots of football to be played.

 

[domerfreak]

 

[IrishTusker]

Idk if he's an improvement and I am certainly not optimistic, but I am also not going to do a complete 180 on him after one game when the whole world and majority of the fanbase was praising him before Saturday at 3:30. There's lots of football to be played.

It isn't a complete 180, it's just adding to the "bad losses" section of the resume. Which is long. Marshall, Stanford, 10 men on the field, UL, Clemson, NIU. Etc., etc.

 

[irishff1014]

I'm starting to get here. I REALLY want MF to succeed (he's just so likeable), but even more than that - I want ND to win again before I die. I would love to share that with my kids.

I really need him to show me that he has the intestinal fortitude to make the truly difficult decisions, relationships be damned, that it takes to be an elite program. If he has learned anything in 3 years then he will be opening up the QB competition 100%, effective immediately. And if RL is the 4th best QB on the team, move him to the scout team.

There is still a season to be salvaged and a ton of upperclassmen who deserve better than this. He needs to do right by them 1st and foremost.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

At this point he repeating himself just like Kelly did. It is just different items they are talking about.

I am most sure ND ever wins another championship but they won’t with Freeman as the head coach.

 

[irishu]

I wish the band would shut the fuck up. They don't deserve it.

Don’t talk sweet about the band. Only ones with a winning performance on the field today

 

[irishff1014]

Embarrassing

 

[T Town Tommy]

I like Freeman. But he's apparently not learning from his bad losses. And that's concerning. I get Marshall. First year HC trying to feel his way through everything. But this one is inexcusable. Year three and you simply can not lose to a team like NIU (no disrespect to NIU). Maybe even more disappointing is Freeman's response in his presser. You can't walk out after losing as a 28 point favorite and say you don't know. That's not learning... and that's not good enough at ND.

 

[TracyGraham]

Think that’s a bad move IMO because Vegas knows how this goes. Public overreacted to NDs win last week, they’ll overrreact to this loss. Freeman’s gonna right the ship, look dominant at times, and get them 5-1 or 6-1 before another clunker against an inferior opponent.

I hope you are right, but IMO that is a best case scenario. At the moment, I don't know if we have shown any reason to believe we can beat Purdue. Do we have a Qb that can perform? If not, do we have the coaches that can adjust and run the ball? We didn't lose to NIU on a fluke. They kinda dominated. Purdue is most likely better than NIU. You really confident we will win our next 4 or 5 games? I'd be ecstatic to win 5 in a row and then blow it against Navy. Shit looks very bad.

 

[domerfreak]

I like Freeman. But he's apparently not learning from his bad losses. And that's concerning. I get Marshall. First year HC trying to feel his way through everything. But this one is inexcusable. Year three and you simply can not lose to a team like NIU (no disrespect to NIU). Maybe even more disappointing is Freeman's response in his presser. You can't walk out after losing as a 28 point favorite and say you don't know. That's not learning... and that's not good enough at ND.

Quotes like this don't help either.

 

[irishff1014]

I like Freeman. But he's apparently not learning from his bad losses. And that's concerning. I get Marshall. First year HC trying to feel his way through everything. But this one is inexcusable. Year three and you simply can not lose to a team like NIU (no disrespect to NIU). Maybe even more disappointing is Freeman's response in his presser. You can't walk out after losing as a 28 point favorite and say you don't know. That's not learning... and that's not good enough at ND.

I’ll second this! Except I don’t care much form him at all anymore.

 

[CANONIZEFATHERSORIN]

Unpopular but now a day removed, I am firmly not out on Freeman yet. His biggest problem is winning the easy games. He has this team up for the big games like I have never had an ND coach in my lifetime. Winning the "easy" games is very fixable.

Now, when I say yet, he needs to essentially win out because ND IS more talented than the rest of the schedule. USC will be a tough game, but this goes back to my initial point that he has the team up for the big games. If they don't win that game, then there goes them being "up" for the big games.

10-2 with 1 of the losses being NIU simply isn't good enough in year 3.

All this stuff about freeman having the team up for big games…we went 0-2 against Ohio State

 

[NumbersGuy0520]

Disgusting. Not sure whose fault this is (Freeman, Denbrock, both), but this was also an issue last year so I lean Freeman.

 

[MacIrish75]

a top 10 Clemson team? Going into OSU and being there the whole game? Sure the OSU game past year had an error, but they were up for it and you can't deny that. Completely obliterating the reigning Heisman Trophy winner? BK loses Texas A&M and Clemson 2022. He gets killed at OSU in 2022. BK would have won Marshall and NIU though, so there's that!

And maybe that's a low standard that me saying "up" for big games unlike any other coaches in my lifetime, but I am too young to remember pre-Willingham really so my fandom has been pretty much suffering through blowouts in big games.

This is sort of where I reside. I was too young to really have been invested for the end of Holtz and Davie.

We complained about laying eggs in big games. MF has that somewhat fixed.

Idk what it is about not being able to be prepared to handle the teams you’re supposed to beat. He played at OSU. Similar situation to ND where you’re opening with an Ohio MAC school almost every year. Those Toledo, Akron, BG kids who didn’t Seger recruited by State U want to prove themselves.

With unlimited analysts or whatever now maybe he needs to hire someone like Tressel or something as an analyst and I’m not kidding. Just to help with mental preparation for games like this. A letdown game was something we were all concerned about, but obviously not quite this magnitude.

 

[Hautian Domer]

Disgusting. Not sure whose fault this is (Freeman, Denbrock, both), but this was also an issue last year so I lean Freeman.

I thought the lack of PA was simply due to Parker?

 

[BoredIrish]

NIU was a repeat of the Marshall game. Shouldn't have happened in year 3.
If there is a repeat of the Stanford game, MF needs to be fired.
To me, it's as simple as this.

 

[MacIrish75]

NIU was a repeat of the Marshall game. Shouldn't have happened in year 3.
If there is a repeat of the Stanford game, MF needs to be fired.
To me, it's as simple as this.

What’s his contract situation? I could look it up, but I don’t want to.

 

[IrishTusker]

NIU was a repeat of the Marshall game. Shouldn't have happened in year 3.
If there is a repeat of the Stanford game, MF needs to be fired.
To me, it's as simple as this.

I agree. And a team that loses to NIU is likely to lose again to someone else (as in 2022).

 

[CANONIZEFATHERSORIN]

Quotes like this don't help either.

Not the RB’s!!!