One week ago, Brian Kelly left Notre Dame to become the head coach at LSU. Today, Marcus Freeman was officially introduced as his replacement.
It has been a whirlwind week for the 35-year-old Freeman, who has been viewed for some time as a rising star in the coaching industry. Still, even he didn’t expect to be where he is right now.
In an interview with Colin Cowherd on “The Herd” this afternoon, Freeman said Kelly’s phone call telling him he was heading to Baton Rouge came as a total surprise.
“When he called me and told me, I was in complete shock,” Freeman said. “I did not see it coming at all. My mind started racing.”
Freeman shared that Kelly then asked him to follow him to LSU and be his defensive coordinator. In the moment, Freeman said okay, but wanted to talk to his wife first.
“When he called me and told me, I was in complete shock. I did not see it coming at all. My mind started racing.”
— @Marcus_Freeman1 talks Brian Kelly’s departure from Notre Dame and his transition to head coach: pic.twitter.com/FstGBOTbFE
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 6, 2021
Some time after that conversation, Freeman was contacted by the Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick and asked if he was seriously interested in taking the reins of the program. From the moment news of Kelly’s departure broke, Freeman received a groundswell of support publicly and privately from Notre Dame players and alumni.
Freeman is quite popular with the current group of Fighting Irish, but he admits it won’t be easy being a first time head coach at a program of ND’s stature. That doesn’t mean he’s not excited for the opportunity at hand.
“What a great challenge. What a great opportunity. You’re the head coach of the University of Notre Dame. You get a chance to live a lifelong dream. I’m just going to take it day by day,” he told Cowherd.
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