Is Marcus Freeman the Problem?

On December 3, 2021, Marcus Freeman was hired to replace Brian Kelly as the head coach of the Notre Dame football program. Since then, he's posted a record of 20-9, including two bowl game wins. With the loss to NIU this past week, Irish faithful are turning to him for answers, with many calling for his job. But is Marcus Freeman really the problem?

Photo by The Irish Tribune

Freeman has had his fair share of tough losses. Losing at home to Marshall, Stanford, and now Northern Illinois doesn't exactly hold up to the "golden standard." While Notre Dame has a history of playing tight with teams they should beat-handedly, Brian Kelly posted a 42-0 record against unranked teams starting in 2017, all the way up to his resignation in 2021. With Freeman's third embarrassing home loss in the last three seasons, it's starting to look like a trend, rather than a young head coach finding his way.

Freeman is still young, only starting his third full season as a head football coach, but at a program as revered as Notre Dame, losses like these are inexcusable. Coordinators have been shaky in his tenure so far, but this year he went and hired Mike Denbrock, previously LSU's offensive coordinator. This was a home run hire, as Denbrock led the offense that produced last year's Heisman quarterback and 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft, Jayden Daniels. However, this year's offense looks arguably worse than it ever has under Freeman.

Of course, there's plenty to be said about the skill gap between Jayden Daniels and Riley Leonard. However, Denbrock's stint at Cincinnati included a win at Notre Dame and a College Football Playoff appearance. Desmond Ridder won back-to-back AAC Offensive Player of the Year awards in that time and threw for over 10,000 passing yards and 87 touchdowns in his career. All that to say, Denbrock has seen success without star-studded squads.

So what's the difference between this year at Notre Dame and his previous coaching stints? Riley Leonard wasn't exactly a gunslinging air-raid quarterback who takes the top off the defense at Duke, and he also wasn't the best runner, but he's always been a tough, hard-nosed player who will do whatever he has to for the team. Some of the lack of offensive production can be credited to Leonard's inability to throw the ball downfield with accuracy. He's missed several key throws this season, which everyone does, but he can't seem to settle in, even against an opponent that should've been beaten like Northern Illinois.

But Freeman could also be holding back Denbrock. Irish fans around the world seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when Gerad Parker left Notre Dame to take another job, and the same fans were ecstatic when Denbrock was hired, and yet, two games in, and the offense looks worse than it ever has. Week one is one thing, it's the first week of the season, a new quarterback, a new offensive line, and one of the toughest stadiums to play in against a tough opponent. Winning an ugly game there is great. But at home against Northern Illinois, 28.5 point underdogs, is a completely different thing.

The staff and team likely saw it as an opportunity to work out some kinks and use it as a get-right week for the offense. But who wouldn't agree that Notre Dame has more talent on its offense than NIU? It's a no-brainer. The way that Freeman and the players got amped up to play at A&M versus at home against NIU was night and day. Freeman, known for being, at the very least, a players' coach and a great "rah-rah" guy, couldn't get his team hyped to play in their home opener after a huge win?

If you want to blame Riley Leonard, that's fine, but why not sub him out? This is a problem that comes back on Freeman. For the last two years, the Irish have opted for grad-transfer quarterbacks. Sam Hartman was disappointing to say the least, last year, yet Freeman and the staff still decided to go after Leonard in the portal, even with Angeli showing flashes of skill in his limited reps. Even a few years ago, Jack Coan wasn't exactly a success. College football has entered a new age with the transfer portal, but even so, it's unlike Notre Dame to go after transfer quarterbacks like that.

The staff is handcuffed to Riley Leonard. They went after him and brought him to Notre Dame with the promise of being the starting quarterback, making significantly more NIL money, and a better chance to get to the NFL. Bringing in a transfer quarterback sort of seals your fate. You made him all these promises, went all in on the guy, and now he's been a let-down so far, and no one has the guts to make a change. Angeli was solid in his limited appearances last year for the Irish, including leading a gutted roster to a win against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. Kenny Minchey was a 4-star quarterback in high school who's never seen the field. CJ Carr, who ND fans have been waiting for for a long time, is here now. Freshman quarterbacks like Dylan Raiola and DJ Lagway are getting starts at big programs, and are seeing success. Why not see what Carr can do?

At the end of the day, all of these can come back on Freeman. But is there still hope? Absolutely. There have been hard times in the last few years under Freeman, but this defense is the best it's been since maybe Manti Te'o. The offense has to be changing. There's no way anyone could go back to practice this week and say that we just need to go out and do the same thing again. Bad teams need to be taken more seriously. But Marcus Freeman has won big games. He beat 9th ranked Clemson, he won at 20th ranked Texas A&M in their home opener, he embarrassed 10th ranked USC last year, even with Heisman Caleb Williams, and he'll have an opportunity to win out this year, and beat a solid USC team again, on the road this time. It's not time to press the panic button just yet, but changes have to be made.

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