Marcus Freeman facts for kids
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Freeman in 2024
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Notre Dame |
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 33–10 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 10, 1986 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2004–2008 | Ohio State |
| 2009 | Chicago Bears |
| 2009 | Buffalo Bills |
| 2009 | Houston Texans |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2010 | Ohio State (GA) |
| 2011–2012 | Kent State (LB) |
| 2013–2015 | Purdue (LB) |
| 2016 | Purdue (co-DC/LB) |
| 2017–2020 | Cincinnati (DC/LB) |
| 2021 | Notre Dame (DC/LB) |
| 2021–present | Notre Dame |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 33–10 |
| Bowls | 4–1 |
| Tournaments | 3–1 (CFP) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
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Marcus Louis Freeman (born January 10, 1986) is a well-known American football coach and former linebacker player. He is currently the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish college football team. Before becoming head coach, Freeman was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Notre Dame in 2021. He also worked as an assistant coach at other universities like Cincinnati, Purdue, Kent State, and Ohio State.
Freeman played college football at Ohio State. He was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the 2009 NFL draft. He was part of the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans teams, but he never played in a regular NFL game.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Marcus Freeman was born in Dayton, Ohio, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center. His mother, Chong Freeman, is from South Korea. She met his father, Michael Freeman, who is African American, while he was serving in the U.S. Air Force. His family moved to Ohio in 1976. Marcus also has an older brother named Michael Jr.
Freeman went to Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio. He was a very good football player there, making many tackles and sacks. As a senior, he was named to the Parade All-American Team. He was a starter for four years and was chosen as a first-team All-Ohio player twice.
Marcus also competed in track and field in high school. He ran in the 4 × 100 metres relay and threw the shot and discus. When he was a freshman, his team won the OHSAA track and field championship.
College Football Career
Marcus Freeman played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
2004 Season
In his first year, 2004, Freeman played in 13 games and made four tackles.
2005 Season
Freeman took a "redshirt" year in 2005. This means he didn't play in games after hurting his knee in the first game. This allowed him to keep a year of eligibility.
2006 Season
During the 2006 season, Freeman played in 13 games and started 11 of them. He made 71 tackles and was second on the team with six pass break-ups and two interceptions.
2007 Season
In 2007, Freeman was a starting linebacker for his second year. He was named second-team All-Big Ten. He made 109 tackles and helped break up five passes.
2008 Season
In 2008, Freeman started all 13 games for Ohio State. He made 84 tackles and 3.5 sacks. For the second year in a row, he was named to the All-Big Ten second team. He was also an Academic All-Big Ten selection for his good grades. After this season, Freeman decided to enter the 2009 NFL draft.
Throughout his college career, Freeman played in 51 games and started 37 of them. He was a two-time Second-team All-Big Ten player. He finished his time at Ohio State with 268 tackles, which put him 19th on the school's all-time tackle list.
College Statistics
| Ohio State Buckeyes | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | FF | TD | |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 |  Redshirt |
||||||||||||
| 2006 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 37 | 71 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 13 | 13 | 66 | 43 | 109 | 9.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 13 | 13 | 39 | 45 | 84 | 9.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 51 | 37 | 140 | 128 | 268 | 21.5 | 6.0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Professional Playing Career
Pre-draft Information
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
239 lb (108 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.74 s | 1.64 s | 2.77 s | 4.12 s | 6.98 s | 37 in (0.94 m) |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
30 reps | |
| Arm and hand spans from Pro Day, all other values from NFL Combine. | ||||||||||||
Time with NFL Teams (2009)
Freeman was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft. However, he was later released by the team.
He then signed with the Buffalo Bills practice squad in September 2009, but was released in October. Later that year, in November, he signed with the Houston Texans.
Retirement from Playing
On May 1, 2010, Marcus Freeman retired from playing football. He had to stop playing because of a heart condition called enlarged heart.
Coaching Career
After his playing career ended, Marcus Freeman began coaching.
Ohio State (2010)
In 2010, Freeman started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, his former college team.
Kent State (2011–2012)
In January 2011, Freeman became the linebackers coach for Kent State. He held this position for two years.
Purdue (2013–2016)
On January 18, 2013, Freeman was hired as the linebackers coach for the Purdue Boilermakers. In 2016, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator. He helped make the linebackers group at Purdue much stronger.
Cincinnati (2017–2020)
In December 2016, Freeman joined the Cincinnati Bearcats football team as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He helped turn Cincinnati's defense into one of the best in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). In 2018, his defense was a top team in stopping running plays, scoring, and overall defense.
Freeman was considered one of the rising stars in college coaching. He even turned down offers from other big teams, including Ohio State and the NFL's Tennessee Titans, to stay at Cincinnati. In 2020, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the best assistant coaches.
Notre Dame (2021–Present)
On January 8, 2021, Freeman was hired as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was the top choice for the job by then-head coach Brian Kelly.
2021 Season
After the 2021 regular season, Brian Kelly left Notre Dame. On December 3, 2021, Marcus Freeman was chosen to be the new head coach. He became the 32nd head coach in Notre Dame's history. He coached the team in their Fiesta Bowl game, which they lost to Oklahoma State.
2022 Season
Freeman's first full season as head coach in 2022 started with losses to Ohio State and Marshall. This made him the first Notre Dame head coach to start his career with three losses. However, he got his first win the next week against California. His team finished the regular season with an 8–4 record, including a big win over Clemson. They won their bowl game, the Gator Bowl, against South Carolina.
2023 Season
Many experts thought the 2023 season would be a big step forward for Notre Dame under Freeman. They started strong, winning their first four games and moving up in the rankings. They had a tough loss to Ohio State, but then beat Duke in an exciting game. A highlight was their big win over USC and their star quarterback Caleb Williams. Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 9–3 record. They won the Sun Bowl against Oregon State, ending the season with a 10–3 record and a national ranking of 14th. Key players for the team included running back Audric Estime, quarterback Sam Hartman, and safety Xavier Watts.
2024 Season
Freeman's 2024 team started with a win against Texas A&M. However, they then had a surprising loss to Northern Illinois. After that, the Irish went on an amazing 10-game winning streak. They had big wins over Louisville, Navy, Army, and USC.
Notre Dame earned the 7th spot in the College Football Playoff. They hosted their first-ever home playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium, winning against Indiana. They then beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and Penn State in the Orange Bowl. This led them to the national championship game for the first time in 12 years. Marcus Freeman made history by becoming the first African American and the first Asian American head coach to reach a Division I national college football championship. They lost the championship game to Ohio State.
Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NCAA Division I FBS independent) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 0–1 | L Fiesta† | 9 | 8 | ||||
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 9–4 | W Gator | 18 | 18 | ||||
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 10–3 | W Sun | 14 | 14 | ||||
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 14–2 | W CFP First Round†, W Sugar†, W Orange†, L CFP NCG† | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Notre Dame: | 33–10 | ||||||||
| Total: | 33–10 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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Personal Life
In 2010, Marcus Freeman married Joanna Herncane, whom he had dated since college. They have six children together. Freeman also has another child from a previous relationship. In 2022, Freeman became a member of the Catholic faith.
Images for kids
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Freeman talking to the press before the 2025 CFP National Championship.
