UNSCRIPTED: Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman creates his OWN history on MLK Day!

Unscripted By Keith Edmonds
FWIS Contributing Writer

Notre Dame’s win over Penn State was significant in more ways than just another game won. The Orange Bowl win marked the first time that 2 Black Head Coaches faced off in a game to determine who would go to the CFP National Championship game! Coach Freeman’s Fighting Irish won the game over Coach James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions which set up the historical significance for the CFP Championship Game featuring Notre Dame vs. Ohio State. This became a very interesting scenario for Freeman as he not only was an All BIG Ten linebacker at Ohio State but he also coached there along with stops at Kent State, Purdue, and Cincinnati before becoming the defensive coordinator in for the Irish in 2021. What strikes me as unusually rare is what Notre Dame did in hiring Freeman in the first place and taking a chance on a young minority coordinator as the head coach of a blueblood with no previous head coaching experience! Taking the Notre Dame job was something that he knew would be a challenge, but one that he was willing to accept and the ridiculous pressures that came with it. At Notre Dame you’re expected to not only win but compete for a National Championship EVERY YEAR! How many of us would have accepted this position as a 38-year-old and performed at a level that belies his age and experience as Coach Freeman did?

When asked about the magnitude of the win over Penn State, that sent his team to the CFP finale Freeman responded with “It takes a team. It takes a program. It takes a lot of people committing to something bigger than themselves to put your team in a position to be here, and I understand it, and I'm incredibly grateful for it. If this creates more opportunities for other coaches, other minority coaches, great. It is great for the future generations of coaches, of college football coaches, of leaders. I am all for it, and I'm grateful to be a part of that. I hope that people not only see the African American side of me but also the Asian side as well. That’s what makes it so unique.”

This speaks of Coach Freeman’s character and strong belief in his philosophies in acquiring such a prestigious position and by coaching in this championship game not only made Freeman the first Black Head Coach to advance this far in the play-offs, but if the Fighting Irish would be fortunate to win, it would signal the end to a drought of over 35 years since Notre Dame last WON in the Championship game! (Do I dare say that this game also fell on the same day that we were inaugurating a new president? Nah.... that’s another story).

The championship game was played on Dr. Martin Luther King Day and lived up to everything that I expected it to be. Unfortunately, the Fighting Irish lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 34-23 but how can this be considered a loss after so much was gained? The significance of this game will be talked about for years to come! Something that I found very intriguing while researching this piece was, while Black men make up about half of FBS players in any given year, there are only 15 Black head coaches out of 134 schools! Now think about that for a moment. Yes there are some coaching at HCBU’S (namely DeSean Jackson at Delaware State and Michael Vick at Norfolk State) but folks, these are former NFL stars! It’s a road very few have travelled on, not because they aren’t qualified, but what a gamble ND took in hiring Freeman! At least in my opinion...

The University of Notre Dame football is a program that people either love or hate. They have been accused of being pompously arrogant for not playing football in a traditional conference like the Big Ten, SEC, or ACC and their student/athletes as well as fans have been labeled as cocky, and rude to the public (and in some instances deservedly so). Notre Dame and the brand of the Fighting Irish is something that many are envious of and added to this is the fact that the Irish pulled a cool 6 million off of the game (20 million in total for advancing through 4 rounds of the play-offs) that they didn’t have to share with ANYONE because they are an Independent! Conversely, the Buckeyes also pulled in 6 million (also 20 million total) but by contractual agreements have to share this with ALL 18 teams in the B1G Ten conference! Can you see where envy and jealousy may come in? I sure do! Freeman has come into this program and in his 3rd season is changing not only the perception of his program, but the players have rallied around him in a way that is refreshing and commendable and should be applauded!

Coach Freeman, though you did not make history by winning this particular game, the historical significances’ you made will open doors for many others traveling down this same path and is a win/win for many following you! I for one am proud of what you’ve accomplished with your football program, and what transpired during the course of this difficult season. Hold your head up my brotha, you got it done. Go Irish!