Marcus Freeman, Head Football Coach of Notre Dame reflects on 2024 National Championship run, lessons in pain, future of the Fighting Irish, what he sees in Jeremiyah Love, key roster additions, NFL pedigree and 2025 mission

“A lot of lessons from that (National Championship) game, one is- we are good enough to be in that game and we are good enough to win that game….but this program is good enough every year to be in that game and to win that game, but we have to earn the right to do that.“ Marcus Freeman As the 2025 college football season approaches, The Pivot Podcast welcomes back Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman for a powerful sit-down ahead of what could be a defining year in South Bend. Coming off a thrilling run to the National Championship game last season, Coach Freeman opens up to Ryan, Channing, and Fred about the lessons learned from the highs and heartbreaks of 2024—and how he's using that experience to fuel this year’s mission. In this candid conversation, Freeman talks leadership, pressure, and what it truly takes to build a sustainable culture of excellence. Freeman opens up about the hunger that still drives him, the lessons taken from last year, and the mounting expectations as Notre Dame returns a roster stacked with talent and leadership. He reflects on the evolution of the Fighting Irish under his watch, handling pressure, the growing expectations on and off the field, and how he’s preparing his team—and himself—for the next step. Freeman also shares his excitement for breakout running back Jeremiah Love, whose explosive finish to the 2024 season has fans buzzing and opposing defenses on alert. With bigger responsibilities in the spotlight, Love is expected to be a game-changer in the Irish offense—and a major factor in Notre Dame’s championship hopes. With unfiltered honesty and a competitor’s mindset, Marcus Freeman gives fans and critics alike an inside look at what’s coming next for Notre Dame football. The Irish kick off vs Miami Sunday night August 31st on primetime. Don't forget to like, subscribe and comment- we love hearing your feedback and chatting with you about the episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior-like beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Marcus Freeman is entering his fourth year as Notre Dame's head coach, and expectations couldn't be higher for the Fighting Irish. The entire college football world will be tapped in as they march into Hard Rock for Sunday night's huge matchup against the Miami Hurricanes. This team is coming off of a national championship appearance, but they feel poised and ready to not make the same mistakes that they made last year. This is the most stacked team that Coach Freeman has had since taking over for Brian Kelly, so his sense of urgency is through the roof. The Ohio State loss still lingers, but there were lessons learned. We saw him coached through adversity last year, whether it was the early loss to Northern Illinois, or the New Year's Day tragedy that truly showed what sort of leader of men Marcus Freeman was.

• 1:14Ryan Clark?

  He's the guy that all the former NFL players want their kids to play for, and he's America's darling in more ways than one. We talk national championship hopes, restoring Notre Dame traditions, and amongst other players, superstar running back Jeremiah Love. So, take a seat as Marcus Freeman runs it back in our 2025 College Football Preview, as the Pivot Training Camp Tour stops in South Bend. Me, Freddie T and Chan, chop it up with our boy, Marcus Freeman, and it starts right now.

• 1:43Fred Taylor?

  Play what you got to play.

• 1:44Ryan Clark?

  Freddie T, you've never played special teams?

• 1:45Fred Taylor?

  I have, man.

• 1:46Ryan Clark?

  My guy!

• 1:47Fred Taylor?

  What up?

• 1:48Channing Crowder?

  Good to see you, man.

• 1:49Ryan Clark?

  Yes, sir.

• 1:50Channing Crowder?

  Coach, talk.

• 1:51Ryan Clark?

  Welcome back.

• 1:52Channing Crowder?

  Appreciate you, baby.

• 1:53Fred Taylor?

  Welcome back.

• 1:54Ryan Clark?

  Hey, I actually, I actually played-

• 1:55Channing Crowder?

  Young man.

• 1:56Ryan Clark?

  I actually played, uh, personal protector in the Super Bowl.

• 1:59Fred Taylor?

  See?

• 1:59Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 2:00Fred Taylor?

  You gotta earn your keep, man. Have you get on that field?

• 2:02Channing Crowder?

  I ain't playing no special teams.

• 2:04Ryan Clark?

  Special teams ain't important.

• 2:06Channing Crowder?

  It's important, but not for me. Coach, I gotta go chase tight ends and tackle Marshawn Lynch. I can't run down on no punt.

• 2:13Speaker 04

  We just need you on one. That's the, we're trying to, hey.

• 2:15Ryan Clark?

  Coach, I had a, so my homeboy, my homeboy, I met his, uh, his girlfriend comes over and like, we ended up being really good friends. And he had told her that he played special teams because he was too important to be utilized all the time. So she told, so when I met her dad, he was like, you know what this girl came home and told me? That he was on the very special teams.

• 2:38Fred Taylor?

  Coach, I like your style though, man. My, I was in year 12 and 13 in New England.

• 2:42Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 2:43Fred Taylor?

  Everybody does everything.

• 2:45Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 2:45Fred Taylor?

  Uh, unless you're Brady probably.

• 2:47Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I'm, that's.

• 2:48Fred Taylor?

  Scout team, special team. Year 12.

• 2:51Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, but you didn't, you didn't do it, you didn't do it the first 10 in Jacksonville.

• 2:55Fred Taylor?

  I did it year one.

• 2:57Ryan Clark?

  Man.

• 2:57Fred Taylor?

  I did it in the game. I got snaps in the game on special team punt return.

• 3:02Channing Crowder?

  Okay, let's talk about what we're here for, because that's not true.

• 3:05Speaker 04

  We could go in depth about that maybe a little later, but I want to talk.

• 3:07Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, that's.

• 3:08Speaker 04

  But, but you said that about New England and I'm sure a lot has to do with Belichick. And now with Saban, when you were with Saban, did he?

• 3:16Channing Crowder?

  Yeah. And they. I was with him my rookie year though, so I.

• 3:19Speaker 04

  You was on special team.

• 3:19Channing Crowder?

  I'll run down there and yeah. But now, once I'm leading the team in tackle coach, you can keep that punt. Man, I'm tired as hell already, coach. I, I could still taste the gin from last night.

• 3:31Channing Crowder?

  Can't run down on no punt team, coach.

• 3:53Ryan Clark?

  That is the pivot. Gin and confessions. At Notre Dame, Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark, Marcus Freeman, welcome back, man. Thank you. Uh, it's a, you're different Marcus Freeman now. And Notre Dame is a different Notre Dame, thanks to the success that you guys have had. Pivot fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us. This is our college football training camp show. Um, coach, talk about what last year's run did for the perception of yourself as a head coach and Notre Dame headed into the 2025 season.

• 4:28Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think you said it right. The perception's different and that's to each person's opinion, right? Of what they think of this place. And what I love most about what that run did for us. One, it was a special run for the people that were involved on that team, right? And that's what gives me the most gratification is being able to, you know, reach some great heights. We didn't finish it, but for those guys. But it's also helped in recruiting, right? I think that people that have grown up probably a little bit older like us that understand the Notre Danes of the past, the great teams, the 88 team, the 90s. But this younger generation maybe didn't have that perception of this place.

• 5:10Speaker 04

  And I think now, young people at least say, okay, Notre Dame was in the national championship game. Maybe I want to go check that place out, right? And if we can get kids on campus here, then it's our job to convince them it's the right place for them.

• 5:25Channing Crowder?

  I don't want to say it's more pressure because they say pressure's a privilege and all that. But just now, getting a place like Notre Dame back to where you are in national championships, does Marcus Freeman have to do anything different?

• 5:37Speaker 04

  Yeah, I don't, I don't want to give coach speak, right? But the reality is, is we talk about reaching our full potential. Like that's, that's the goal. I don't sit here every day and say, there's one goal. We got to be the national champions. Like, that's too big. Like, don't focus on that. We know every team wants to win a national championship. But how do we reach our full potential? You know, I told a team this at the beginning of training camp and, and I'm a firm believer in this and that with tradition comes responsibility. And we have a responsibility to lead this place as coaches, as players, as people that work here better than we found it. And I think that's more pressure than, than any opponent, any perception can put on you. Like, how do we elevate this football program from where we were last year?

• 6:23Speaker 04

  Right, that's more pressure than anything, any opponent than anybody can put on you.

• 6:28Fred Taylor?

  But even with that, Coach, you're talking about pressure. I mean, just looking back at last season, you guys lost to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame losing to Northern Illinois, but.

• 6:38Speaker 04

  Tough time, boy.

• 6:39Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, right, but. Easy goes post game. Hey, listen.

• 6:44Speaker 04

  I just saw my dog take. Stay with it.

• 6:48Fred Taylor?

  Of all teams, but you go on to win 14, 13 in a row. Like, so what, what kind of shifted in that, in that run, in that comeback? And how much of that were, are you able to bottle and, you know, share with the team? To kind of show them for this season that, look, anything's possible as long as we stick with it.

• 7:08Speaker 04

  Yeah. You know, Ryan, obviously, Jordan was a part of it. And he could tell you what happened from a player's perspective. You know, it was a low moment. Well, listen, the week one, we beat a top program.

• 7:21Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 7:21Speaker 04

  Right, in A and M, and so I knew we were a good football team. Then week two, to lose to Northern Illinois. Man, that is tough.

• 7:31Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 7:31Speaker 04

  And I remember telling the team in the locker, I could just remember like it's yesterday. I said, I've been here before. My first year, we lost to Marshall. And it's gonna be a long week. And everybody outside of this locker room is gonna be really loud. Right, and you can hear it, and you can listen to it, you can read it, or you can stay together. Right, and that's what I told him. I said, but I've been here before, we're gonna get back to work. And so I remember going back to my office, watching film and trying to figure out like, what the heck happened? And there's X's and O's that, that we had to fix. But there was a greater lesson. I remember driving home, this is about midnight, and I'm like,

• 8:12Speaker 04

  God, what, what, what happened? Like, what, what is the lesson I'm trying to learn? And, and.

• 8:20Speaker 04

  I went back and I just counted from the first day of training camp to the loss. And it was 40 days. And 40 is an important number in the Christian faith, but also it said there's a bigger lesson. And I said, we didn't learn, we didn't know, I didn't know as a head coach, how to handle success. See, the first three years, no, the first two years I was the head coach, we had lost to Ohio State early in the year. So we lost a big game early. Now, we finished with nine wins, 10 wins, but we had never won that big game early. And I said, that's the lesson. I remember going in there the next day and saying, the lesson we have to learn from this is how to handle success, no matter who the opponent is. Right.

• 9:04Speaker 04

  You know, there's a physical preparation, but there's a mental respect you gotta have for your opponent. And each individual's the only one that knows, do I respect this opponent the way you're supposed to respect the game of football? Because it'll humble you if you don't. Right. And I told them, I said, if we can remember this, how to handle success, this will be the greatest lesson that this football program has learned for the entire season. And we, and every week I'd say, keep the pain. Keep the pain. Keep the pain. And I would always remind them, I didn't care if it was the next week or if it was 10 weeks. So we're getting ready for the national championship. Keep the pain. And I remember I wrote them a letter. It was a letter to the team and I would bring that letter. I brought it out twice.

• 9:47Speaker 04

  Well, three times, right? That Monday, we met after the game, before the USC game, which was the last game of the season to get into the playoffs and then before the national championship. And it's just a reminder, man, to keep the pain. And it was a great lesson, man. It was a great lesson for me and for that program.

• 10:05Ryan Clark?

  As a parent, right, it was just such a fun ride. I think it was the people that we got to do it with, the parents that we got to be around each and every week. The way people legitimately hated us when we walked into stadiums, you know, I thought that was fun. And I almost got in a fight out front when we played Indiana.

• 10:27Ryan Clark?

  As well.

• 10:27Speaker 04

  Oh, what's that?

• 10:28Ryan Clark?

  Fight somebody.

• 10:29Speaker 04

  Can I hear what happened? Can I hear what happened?

• 10:31Ryan Clark?

  We'll talk about it all. We'll talk about it all, camera coach. You know, but it was just such a, it was a year where like we became family and we weren't even here for an entire 365 days. One of the, I think, the toughest moments and one of the sort of most rewarding moments was the Sugar Bowl. Obviously, the tragedy that happens on New Year's and the way that the entire university, but the entire football family came together and took care of one another. I mean, I think it's something that I'll remember forever. I'll forever be indebted to the school, to you and to everybody that worked with you. Can you just talk a little bit, Coach, about how you immediately shifted from head coach of a university,

• 11:15Ryan Clark?

  head coach of a football team to the person that was on TV, the person that had to deal with those players, with those coaches, the person that had to deal with the authorities? Just how did you tap in to be such a great leader of men in that time?

• 11:30Speaker 04

  You know, when I think about that, that moment, that night, it's, I remind myself, like, life is a makeup of unpredictable moments. Like, there's unpredictable things that, that happen and how you handle those unpredictable things, to me, determine on the success. And I remember when I got the call, hey, there's been, they said it was an incident. Like, I didn't know exactly what happened and this was early in the morning. And so I go down there and they didn't say the games would be canceled or anything like that. We're getting ready for the game. And we give them a little bit of break between walkthroughs and then we have team meal before we head to the stadium. And I remember during that break, I got a call from our A D. to say, hey, they're going to cancel,

• 12:15Speaker 04

  postpone the game. I don't know if it's going to be tomorrow. I don't know if it's going to be two days from now, but they're postponing the game. And I said, okay. Unpredictable moment. How do we fix this? So I go downstairs, I grabbed the captains. I, I, in tough moments, I, I value the input of, of our leaders. And I grabbed the captains and I said, here's the situation. I grabbed our sports science guy. I grabbed our strength coach and said, here's the situation. What do we need to do? I don't know when the game's gonna be. What do we need to do immediately to make sure that if we play tomorrow, like, we're physically gonna be ready to go? Do we need to run? Do we need to go practice? What physically do we need to do? And they kinda suggested, hey, we need to...

• 13:00Speaker 04

  I don't know if we need to go and have a walk through the stadium, but we need to get flushed and run and do some things. I said, "Okay, we're gonna do that." And I said, "Captains, like, you guys have any opinion on it? Coach, we're good, man. We're gonna reiterate that message. We're gonna go do whatever you need to do." They're loyal. They're just loyal individuals. But then the next thing, I said, "Okay, I don't wanna sit here and meet all day and make you guys go through walk-throughs in a hotel when you have your parents at a hotel a block away and they can't touch their kids." And I said, "In these moments, man, as a parent myself, all you wanna do, you can call your son, 'Are you okay?', but you physically wanna be around your child."

• 13:45Speaker 04

  And I said, "How long do we need to get physically ready? Have a quick meal? Because what I wanna do is I wanna get the parents to this hotel so that the parents can feel a sense of comfort, but the players can feel a sense of comfort knowing that their parents are coming." And that's what we did. We did. We had Shannon Vincent, our parent coordinator, there, and she got ahold of the parents. And I think that was important. You know, I think there's some people that say, "I don't want any distractions right now. We're gonna just do walk-throughs in leading and football, football." And it was just a tragedy. You know, there was a tragedy. And sometimes, man, love and family is bigger than just football.

• 14:30Speaker 04

  And so, that was what we did. And it's a reflection of the Notre Dame community, the football program, but the community in itself, you know, in tough times, coming together.

• 14:39Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, Jordan called me crying, and he's like, "Go home." Because we were like right up the street. He was like, y'all don't need to come to the game. Nobody needs to be down here. This stuff is happening. And I say, hey, man. I was like, well, I don't know what you want. I was like, but we'll be here. And I was like, and if we can come see you, we're gonna come see you. And whenever they kick that football off, we'll be in the stadium. But you were right, to get an opportunity to sit with him and have my parents there and have, you know, his other relatives that are able to see him and to touch him and to let him know that we were good so they could be good. I think that was a huge part of what made all of us feel comfortable being there. So we appreciate you.

• 15:17Speaker 04

  Oh, good.

• 15:18Channing Crowder?

  And coaches, is that a coaching technique or just morals and humanity? Because I've had coaches that would call me and be like, hey, you going home for Thanksgiving? No, I'll come to the crib, my wife's cooking.

• 15:29Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 15:30Channing Crowder?

  But I don't know if that was, I wanted my All-American linebacker to make more tackles next week, or if it's just that mid-ground because you're not being judged off, you're not being judged off that Joe called his daddy in pride. You're not being judged off, you're being judged off your 33 and 10 record at Notre Dame. You know what I'm saying?

• 15:47Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 15:47Channing Crowder?

  What, what part of that? Is that, is that just you or did you, like you're saying, is that a strategy?

• 15:52Speaker 04

  Yeah, for me, it's, it's why you do what you do. And, yeah, I'm a competitive dude. I want to be the best at what I do. We're competitors, right? But that's not why I do what I do, right? It's because I truly want to make sure that the young people you coach are better football players and better men because they chose to play football at a place you're the leader of. Like, that's, that's why I do what I do. And so when you have a player come to your house, or you have 120 players come to your house, right? When you're around those guys, when you pull them in your office and say, hey, let's have a real conversation, it isn't about wins and losses as much as it is about, you know what, I want this young person to be better because of the time we spent together.

• 16:37Speaker 04

  And that means caring about him as an individual, caring about his families. And so. You don't do that for me to win games, but you know what?

• 16:46Fred Taylor?

  It helps.

• 16:47Speaker 04

  It helps.

• 16:49Speaker 04

  I run through a wall for Charlie Strong to this day. Amen. And you know, I bet Charlie, Coach Strong was probably hard on you. Hard on you, but you knew he loved you. You knew he loved you. And Jordan would tell you, like, at times I'm hard on them, but they know I care about them. Like, I try to tell them more than not, that, hey, I love you. Now, I'm gonna get after your ass. I'm gonna get after you, but I love you. I swear I love you.

• 17:15Speaker 04

  And when you feel that way about somebody, you know what? That's when you'll run through a brick wall.

• 17:19Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, I think as a parent, bigger recruiting tool than, you know, this loose environment of NIL and all that craziness is the genuineness that comes from, you know, the people that I'm sending my child off to be with for the next four to five years or whatever. So I think that always will play in a role. Like Denzel just said, all money ain't good money.

• 17:44Fred Taylor?

  So, I mean, this is what you need. You need that real leadership. So you can develop men. And, you know, it's always good to see you on the sideline because I know what you stand for. But it's always even better to see you when I know that you, a place like this, here in Notre Dame with so much tradition, you got the most wins in the history of this college, right? Of this program. You the first African-American and Asian head coach to coach in the national championship playoff game. I wanted to ask you, just in the first year of that format, the playoff, just the schedule itself, what it took to kind of go through that type of season?

• 18:27Fred Taylor?

  I mean, it's a long season, right? Ups and downs, ebbs and flows. But you found a way to, you know, get through it and put your guys in position to, you know, win it all? Like, just kind of give us a recap and know the challenges, the ups and downs, and just everything else that went along with it.

• 18:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, we had a plan before the season started that said, hey, if we're fortunate to make the playoffs, how are we gonna do the final exams and have get ready for our first playoff game? And we are, we had 40 guys taking an exam the day before we played Indiana in that playoff game. I mean, it was, you know, you got to go to school here.

• 19:08Fred Taylor?

  Yes, sir.

• 19:09Speaker 04

  And you have to study, too. That's the part of Notre Dame. You know, we've talked about the season and then it just became these one-game seasons, man. And you get ready to play an Indiana team that had done a heck of a job in Notre Dame Stadium. First playoff game on a campus, it was rocking. It was cold, but it was rocking. It was rocking, man. That was a special night, you know? Then all of a sudden, you get ready for Georgia. Now, I tried, you tried to humanize them, right? I said, they're football players, man.

• 19:49Speaker 04

  You can't let perception of the mighty SEC, the Georgia Bulldogs, beat you before you step on the field.

• 19:57Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 19:58Speaker 04

  Right? They're men, they're just like us. I got so much respect for Coach Smart. That's a ball coach, man. That's a ball coach. And that football team, but the one thing this program ain't gonna do is fear no one. No one. Like, we're gonna go in this thing, we're gonna go in there fighting. And that's, you know, people make a big deal about the A&M entrance. And when I was getting ready to go and like, that's what, that's what, dog, that's, hey, this, we got me some dog, man, let's go. You know what I mean? I was once a player, I'm a competitor. We don't fear no one. And the atmosphere was nuts, too. It was crazy. That's one of the best, A&M. It was one of the best.

• 20:40Speaker 04

  But like, these dudes ain't fear no one. Right? And it showed when we're down seven versus Penn State. We're down seven versus Penn State at halftime and... You're down. What you gonna do? Mm-hmm. You gonna go out there and fight and claw and do whatever it takes to find a way to win this game? You gonna start feeling bad for yourself. And that's what they did. They went back and they started fighting, man. And then all of a sudden you realize, oh shoot, we're in the national championship. Right. We're in the national championship and we know how that went. The thing that I remember about that game is these dudes never laid down. We're down 21 in the third.

• 21:25Speaker 04

  And they never laid down. They just kept going and they kept believing and, you know, that was that third down, third and 11 or whatever it was. And Jeremiah Smith and great players, a great team and we lost, but these dudes never quit. But I spent a lot of time saying, what could I as a leader done differently? There's lessons in losing, man. There's lessons in winning, but there's real lessons in losing. And, you know, if we get that opportunity, we earn that opportunity again, we'll make some minor changes in the preparation. We're gonna go out there and go swing.

• 22:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 22:29Fred Taylor?

  Coach, earlier today, we was talking about confession and going to see the priest. I got a confession right here on camera. I rooted for you guys every single game because of you and because of Jordan. The Penn State game, not so much because of Coach Sider, my cousin. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was rooting for him, cousin, all of them. But he's here now on your staff, so. Had to get him. Him and Eli. Elijah's over here. So I'm faithfully a Notre Dame Irish fan. Appreciate it, man.

• 22:56Ryan Clark?

  About time. He was hating that week, Coach.

• 22:59Fred Taylor?

  Just Penn State freak.

• 23:00Ryan Clark?

  Penn State freak. He was hating that week.

• 23:01Fred Taylor?

  I mean, but that's family, right?

• 23:02Ryan Clark?

  The people almost broke up that week.

• 23:06Fred Taylor?

  Man, that's cool, man. I know, but Jay Blood, Jay Watt, so he's here now. Amazing recruiter, amazing running back coach, that's my family, so I'm all in, and then Elijah's here. So, I usually, I'm a Florida boy, born and raised. I would typically, I would root for the Hurricanes when you guys come down, that's the 31st.

• 23:24Speaker 04

  That's right.

• 23:25Fred Taylor?

  But I'm all Notre Dame. I'm all Notre Dame. So, everybody's a U fan back home, I'm going for Notre Dame. Letting you know now.

• 23:32Ryan Clark?

  Coach Free, I love the fact that he mentioned Elijah, right? Because he didn't mention Plax. But, obviously, Jordan was here, B. Young's son, Kennedy was here last year, he's transferred now. I think it's Thomas Davis, Larry Fitzgerald, shoot, Jermy- Jermy Michael Finley. Like, all of these former NFL players, and not like, hey, this dude had a cup of coffee in the NFL. Like dudes who were able to create wonderful careers for themselves. Jerome Bettis' son is here. What do you think it is, man, that's now allowing Notre Dame to attract all of this NFL pedigree into its university, into their football team?

• 24:17Speaker 04

  You know, I, I think about that, and I kind of split it into two buckets, right? One is, is fathers that were great NFL players, like Bettis and Bryant Young, that there's, that went to Notre Dame. And then you got guys like yourself, guys like, you mentioned, Elijah Burris, who's here, and some other guys that are committed here. That's a different bucket. I remember having a meeting with Jerome Bettis Jr., Bryce Young, who's Bryant Young's son, James Flanagan, who's on our team. And I remember saying, if I can't convince you... Whose father went to Notre Dame,

• 24:59Speaker 04

  that this is the right place for your future athletically, academically, in life? Then I failed as a coach. And I remember I had a meeting with him, right in front of their dads, who said, "I failed as a coach. If I can't convince you guys that this is the right place for you, because you see it in your fathers." And everything they've done athletically, but who they are is men now. And the other ones is, I think everyone's different, but I think, number one, they all understand that if you're good enough to go to the NFL, you go to Notre Dame and you're gonna be able to make the NFL, right? But they also see the value in what else Notre Dame provides. Maybe you're not good enough. Maybe you're not, you're gonna get this first-class education. Maybe you're here for a year.

• 25:43Speaker 04

  Well, you know you're gonna have a chance to compete for a national championship, right? And be put in a position to go to NFL. And so, I think that's important, right? That they see the value in athletic opportunities here, but the life's outside of football and the education. And the other thing is like, moms are important. You know what I mean? Like, moms are important. You can convince mom that this is the right place, we're good. You know what I mean? It's not as much the dads. We gotta convince mom to make sure that this is the right place for their son.

• 26:15Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, I was gonna ask Coach about that point, because Arande Gaston Jr. plays for the Chargers, and I'm cool with his daddy. We just had this conversation. Is it nature or nurture? My dad played in the league too. So, your dad played in the league. You're physically more capable of playing in the league? Or your dad played in the league, like, I watched Ryan work the hell out of Joe his whole life. So, like, you know what it take to make it. So, is it that you know what it takes? Fred's son, you know what it takes? Or is it something in the DNA?

• 26:44Speaker 04

  It starts with genetics. That starts with genetics. You know what I mean? I've never... I say I'm a bad coach if I ain't got good players. You know what I mean? Like, you gotta, it's genetics and then how you develop the genetics, right? It's when you get them both, that's when the special ones occur. They got genetics and they're around people that know what it takes to play at that high level, that's when the special ones happen, you know? But, hey, there's a lot of people in the NFL that didn't produce great kids. They didn't produce great talent and those dudes aren't playing in the NFL, right? Just because you play in the NFL don't mean you're producing a kid that has that athletic ability.

• 27:21Ryan Clark?

  It'd be like Marcus Jordan out there cutting up. His daddy did great. I have a question, though. You mentioned the moms, right? My favorite Notre Dame shirt last year was, I forget who it was playing, their coach wasn't very attractive, and this girl's walking to the stadium and her shirt said, "Our coach is hotter than yours."

• 27:38Speaker 04

  Oh, shit.

• 27:39Ryan Clark?

  Right? Yeah, you know what I mean? And so, and so then, it's the biggest stage, right? It's not biggest, but the semifinals, and James Franklin hating on your headline, "Coach." You know what I'm saying? How funny has it been, though? It's like, as great as a coach you are, as a coach at a school like Notre Dame, your looks has become a big part of the Marcus Freeman production.

• 28:02Speaker 04

  Nah. I tell you what. Yeah, I try to stay away from that as much as I can, you know what I mean? There ain't gonna be a good answer for this question, you know? I tell you what, I just gotta try to keep my wife happy. That's it. I'm just trying to keep my wife happy, man, and I let people say whatever they want to say, you know what I mean?

• 28:22Fred Taylor?

  So, no GQ spreads or nothing come around the corner?

• 28:26Ryan Clark?

  They gotta get that Travis Kelsey 15 pager, man.

• 28:28Fred Taylor?

  That's what I'm talking about.

• 28:30Ryan Clark?

  Man, I got, hey, maybe we could do that if we win a national championship.

• 28:33Fred Taylor?

  Focus on 15, 16 wins around here.

• 28:35Ryan Clark?

  That's right, that's it.

• 28:36Fred Taylor?

  But even going back to that, because I was actually trying to go somewhere and I kind of lost my train of thought, but really, I wanted to, I started a question with the 14 wins, the most in franchise in the history of this school, being the first black African American, well, being the first African American Asian head coach to coach in a national championship game. I wanted to talk about legacy. Now, do you pay attention to what you've done, what you're doing here in the legacy and, you know, being the first of first and all that different stuff?

• 29:10Speaker 04

  No, because I'm focused on what's next. Right? At some point, you're gonna be done. At some point, you're gonna be done coaching and you then can look back and say, man, what an impact you've made. Right. But that's not my focus. My focus on what right now, what can we do to become a better football program? What can I do to be a better leader? You know, a lot of it was brought up about being the first black head coach to coach a national championship game, Asian head coach and, and you know, I think as I said in the moment, like it is, it's an honor, man. And it makes you reflect on the, the people that have paved the way for me to do that.

• 29:52Speaker 04

  It makes me reflect on Jack Swarbrick, who was the AD at the time and Father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame that said, you know what? We're gonna hire this 35-year-old, never been a head coach at Notre Dame. Like those are the people that should deserve the credit. They gave me the opportunity. All I've tried to do is to make the most of this opportunity. But I do hope it creates an opportunity for the next Marcus Freeman. Right? That's what you hope it does. It does create an opportunity. But I, I just hate it being about one person. Right. Right? Yeah, it's, it's that moment, there's Notre Dame football, we're going to the national championship.

• 30:35Speaker 04

  And, and that's what I always wanted to be about, man, is about team glory, about us. And, and it's the job of, the media's job of people to, you know, have individual glory. That's, but my job in, in the football facility is to make sure it stays about the team.

• 30:55Speaker 00

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• 31:23Ryan Clark?

  Coach, I think something really cool that you do is like you bring back. Whether it's because like I sat with Manti Te'o actually for the Northern Illinois game. He texted me, he's like, I never sat in the box. I was like, oh, this is really cool. You know what I mean? I sat with him during that game, but you bring back people to talk to the team. And a tradition that I thought, you know, was really cool as well was the senior tradition. One, at first, beginning of the year, Jordan didn't want to be a part of because he was like, you know, Pop, like I've only been here one year. Like I don't really know if I could consider myself a Notre Dame man, whatever. And then very late, he was like, hey, I want to do it. You know, and I'll share something on this show that I don't think people know. Jackie Taylor was actually playing here. Sean Taylor's daughter was actually playing here that week.

• 32:08Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 32:09Ryan Clark?

  Right? So we called Shannon, we called Katie and we was like, hey, this is what we like to do. And y'all kind of explained that, or they explained to us that it's like, you know, you get to pick somebody who's a role model, somebody you model yourself after. He picked Sean. And so it all worked out that he got to get the jersey signed by Jackie. Jackie was here. Coach Golden Gate, you know, it was really cool. How much for you, you know, reinstituted the mask and the walk? How much, how important is it for you to continue to allow Notre Dame to keep up with the change in generations and eras, but also keep it rooted in that tradition that makes Notre Dame unique and authentic?

• 32:54Speaker 04

  Yeah. I said this to Channing earlier, right? With tradition comes responsibility. And if you understand the traditions, the people that have come before you to put this football program in the position it's in, you feel a greater sense of responsibility to leave it better. And that's why it's so important to me to bring back a Manti Te'o, to bring back some of those great ones. We study the past, right? The past teams, the past individuals. I want our players to know the history and tradition of Notre Dame. I thought it was important to have masks before we play in the games at Notre Dame Stadium. And, and so those are decisions I make because I want us to feel a greater sense of responsibility

• 33:36Speaker 04

  for the position that we hold. But you also have to be adaptable, right? You can't just be old school, right? I don't want to ever be called old school. I want to say, Dane. They understand the tradition of this place, but they're adaptable to the changes in college football, to the changes in the generations. And so it's a combination of both. But I'm a firm believer in that, man. You have to have a sense of responsibility to the people that have given you this opportunity.

• 34:05Channing Crowder?

  Coach, first two weeks, top 25 teams this season coming up. First game you win, Fred brought it up. I'm down in Miami. You know what I'm saying? I will be in that building watching you and the game play. Coming out the gate, you know, how you feel about that game also? But the change in college football now, where the NIL stuff creates a brand-new quarterback. They have a new defensive coordinator. Like, back in the day, you could have watched film.

• 34:31Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 34:31Channing Crowder?

  I watched the last four games from last year. I know what they do. Nowadays, as things change in college football, what challenges does that present in early-season games? And y'all deciding that we gonna come out the gate with some dog.

• 34:42Speaker 04

  Yeah, this is great, man. Like, we're competitors. And you want to play the only game on Sunday night, you know, versus a great opponent. It'll be a top-10 opponent. It's exciting. You know, we got a couple of weeks to continue to focus on our prep before we get to them. But it's what it's about, man. Like, that's what it's about. That's part of being at Notre Dame, too, being not in the conference. Like, we're gonna go down and play Miami, week one. And then the next game, we have A&M at home. And we got some Big Ten teams. We go down to Arkansas again, play another SCC team, you know, USC. And that's what, but that's what Notre Dame is. You want to play the best of the best. And you're gonna get the best of the best. As far as preparing for an opponent,

• 35:25Speaker 04

  like, that's college football now, right? Like, you're gonna watch some film on, shoot, we had a lot of film on Carson Beck from when he was at Georgia. We thought we were getting ready to play him before he got injured. So you understand the talented player he is and a really good quarterback. And defensive coordinator's new from Minnesota. So you're gonna watch the Minnesota film. But game one is all about how you adapt, right? Like, hey, how your changes, okay, here's what this team's gonna do. Right, like this is what this team's gonna do. How do we attack it? And that's what game one's all about, you know, and about understanding who you are tactically as an offense, defense, special teams. And so it's gonna be exciting, man. It's gonna be warm. We're going down south. We've been there before.

• 36:07Speaker 04

  Now, we haven't been there when it's been all Miami fans. But, uh, so it's gonna be a different environment. I told them, don't, don't expect the environment we had for the Olden Bowl.

• 36:16Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 36:17Speaker 04

  No, we had a lot of Notre Dame fans in there. It's gonna be, it's gonna be rowdy. And so, uh, but we'll be ready, bro.

• 36:22Channing Crowder?

  It's gonna be warm. Y'all got some, some Heat fans or something?

• 36:25Speaker 04

  No, we're good, man.

• 36:26Channing Crowder?

  We, we, we played, we played first game of the year. College stadium, coach. Yeah, everybody talking about. We'll be all right.

• 36:31Ryan Clark?

  Because I do have a question, you know, you, you kind of have these conversations and you come off of a great year like what you had. And like the questions all lead you to be able to say these positive things about these positive moments. But you said something earlier that struck me. You said, you know what? You learned a lot in the loss. What did you learn from the game against your alma mater in losing the national championship?

• 36:55Speaker 04

  Hmm. That's a, oof. You know, that game, there's tactical things that I learned. I remember after that game, going to the hotel and I couldn't get out of my hotel. Like I, I knew there were some parents downstairs. I mean, I was hurt, embarrassed. Um, and the next morning, I snuck downstairs to my office in the hotel and watched the game. And I needed to do that. And that's what I needed to do to reflect on that journey of 24. It was a special one. It didn't end where we wanted.

• 37:38Speaker 04

  We, we, we chased reaching our full potential, man. Like if we didn't reach our full potential, we were damn close. We were this close. And so what do we gotta do? What was the difference between that great team and maybe some of the good teams I've been a part of is, is.

• 37:55Speaker 04

  Talent, culture, development. That's what I believe between good and great teams. Talent, culture, development. Well, our culture and our development of that, that talent's not gonna change. We gotta continue to increase the talent, right? And we gotta continue to develop and have a culture that gets these guys to love each other. So, there's a lot of lessons I learned from that game. One is that we're good enough to be in that game. We're good enough to win that game. Right? We're good enough to win that game. We gotta go back and if we get an opportunity, we're gonna prepare that, we're trying to make, make sure we don't make some mistakes we did, but this program's good enough every year to be in that game and win that game, but we gotta earn the right to do that.

• 38:35Fred Taylor?

  Coach, you, uh, real quick, I know we gotta rap. You mentioned the guys that love each other, but talk about love, cuz I love love. I'm biased. I'm biased. Number four, get it in. Give me a little something about him, man.

• 38:49Ryan Clark?

  He's got some pretty teeth to him too, man.

• 38:50Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, how, like, we met, I met him at the, uh, at the Super Bowl, around the Super Bowl time. R.C. introduced us, and I'm like, man, he's huge. He's, I know he's fast. I've seen him skate out, what, with the 98-yarder?

• 39:02Ryan Clark?

  Indiana.

• 39:03Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, so, man, just how excited do you get when you see him out there on the field?

• 39:08Speaker 04

  Man, I was so, you know, as the, in practice, as the head coach, I stand behind the offense. So, we had practice yesterday, and, uh, it's a thud situation. Thud, man.

• 39:20Fred Taylor?

  Thud.

• 39:21Speaker 04

  Thud. I, man, this would be cool. So, I watched this guy, one play, he makes a cut, you know, somebody thuds him up, gives him an extra little shove, you know, he get mad, and, you know, that's J. Love. They say, you know what I mean? Don't push me, Lee. I'm good with that. So, we take him out to play, the next play gets in there, you know, Leonard Moore, the All-American corner, right? Great, good player. I see J. Love get the ball, bam, makes a cut, sees Leonard, ducks his shoulder, pow, and I'm like, man, this dude. You know what I mean? That's like watching both your two sons go out like, come on, man. But that's who he is. He's a competitor. He is a, such a unique individual.

• 40:03Fred Taylor?

  Mm-hmm.

• 40:04Speaker 04

  He is a unique guy. I remember, he didn't talk much when I recruited him. But you get to spend some time with him on the plane or outside of football facilities. He is such a creative mind, unique in him, but a competitor. Right. Like that dude wants the ball in his hands and he wants to punish you. And if you go low, he's gonna jump over top of you. And if you let him get open space, he's gonna outrun you. Yeah. You know, so we gotta, we gotta find ways to get the ball in his hands and, and we're gonna be creative in how we do that.

• 40:33Ryan Clark?

  Hey Coach, you got, you taking the Indiana run, the hurdles, got USC, Army, or the Penn State Goliath run?

• 40:44Speaker 04

  Uh, this might surprise some people, I'm taking the USC one. And here's why, right? Gets the ball, I don't know if it's a swing pass, running to the sideline, okay? There's a dude coming, a defender coming, goes low, he jumps over top of him. Still running, there's another defender, the defender doesn't, decides not to go low. Jay Love ducks your shoulder, pow, runs right over him. I said, bro, pick your poison, man. You know what I mean? Like, that's the one, I'm like, there you go, that's the run I choose. Say it all the time.

• 41:15Ryan Clark?

  Because like, like you said though, man, it's about being able to recruit the talent, develop the talent and the culture that you created. We got to talk to you two years ago, right? Before, obviously, last year happened and before you continued to grow this program. And I think the sky's the limit, bro. We appreciate your time again, man. Can't see, can't wait to see what happens down at Hard Rock.

• 41:40Speaker 04

  Grateful, man.

• 41:41Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you, man. Yes, sir.

• 41:42Fred Taylor?

  Thank you, Coach.

• 41:43Ryan Clark?

  Hey Coach, honestly though, when he got lost against Indiana though, I was like, okay, he different.

• 41:48Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah. Listen, that's the first time though, hey, that was, that guy was close to him now, you know?

• 41:54Ryan Clark?

  When he got lost, when he got lost against Indiana.

• 42:32Speaker 05

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