#4
Marcus Freeman — Notre Dame, December 2021
Notre Dame 2022–The Brian Kelly defection's response — a 35-year-old DC who became the program's first national-title-game head coach in twelve years.
Year-3: 14-2 · 2024 NCG appearance · 2nd youngest NCG HC since '70
Brian Kelly left for LSU in November 2021; Freeman, the first-year defensive coordinator, was promoted within a week. The 2022 season opened with a Marshall loss at home and the conversation curdled briefly; 2023 (10-3) stabilized the program; 2024 (14-2, the NCG appearance against Ohio State) ratified the bet. Freeman is the rare Notre Dame head coach the alumni-network has embraced without reservation, and the program's recruiting cycle since 2022 has been the strongest since the Holtz years.
Cohort divergence
Stat-folks rank
#9
Casual-fans rank
#9
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consensus
Year-over-year
Prior edition rank: — \u00b7 Movement: ↑ NEW