Marcus Freeman Reacts to Former Boss Brian Kelly's Firing

In what has been a college football season we've rarely seen in terms of coaching firings before Halloween, perhaps the biggest happened Sunday evening in Louisiana as former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was fired from LSU.

Kelly of course won more games as Notre Dame's head coach than any coach previously, but had short comings at the biggest times, failing to ever truly win the "big one" with the Irish. He did however have a run of hiring successful defensive coordinators at Notre Dame that only gets more impressive by the day.

Mike Elko was hired to run Notre Dame's defense in 2017 and has since risen through the coaching ranks and become Texas A&M's head coach.

He then replaced Elko with Clark Lea, who after a successful three-year run calling Notre Dame's defense, took the head coaching position at Vanderbilt and has led the Commodores to heights they haven't seen since previous to World War II.

The final in that run was Marcus Freeman, who Kelly convinced to come to Notre Dame to replace Lea. On Monday, current Notre Dame head coach Freeman was asked about Kelly's firing from LSU.

Marcus Freeman Reacts to Brian Kelly's Firing

You never want to see anybody lose their job, that person, the coaches, the families, the people affected the players, especially somebody you know, right? And then at the end of day, you're always rooting for. Coach Kelly gave me an opportunity to come here, and, you know, I'm always rooting for him, so, but it's also the profession we've chosen, you know, we've chosen this profession, and we know that can be a result of choosing this profession, but it's really, you know, you asked about the state, like the state of college football. It's, you know, that's this is it's, it is what it is, like it or not like it. It is what it is. And you can't worry about that. You got to worry about giving your all to this team and putting this program in a position to have success.

Freeman on the Reminder to be Grateful

And I think I've said this previously, but it's a reminder to be grateful for what you have, because if you're not grateful for what you have, you'll find a way to you'll find a way to lose. And I'm not talking about a coach. I'm talking about in life, like if you're not grateful for what you have, you're gonna find a way to lose it, you know. And that's again, every time I hear some of those things, reminded me of the gratitude I have for this opportunity at this place, with the people I get to work with, the players I get to be involved with. Man, I'm grateful situation that just seemed to know.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

Marcus Freeman must live right off of High Road because he drives that thoroughfare every chance he gets. Kelly certainly helped get Marcus Freeman to Notre Dame, as did Freeman's former coach Jim Tressel, but the way Kelly left Notre Dame is how most Fighting Irish fans will always remember him.

Freeman has had several chances over the years to react to Kelly's actions and some of the things he's said about Notre Dame in comparison to LSU since leaving, but Freeman has continuously taken the high road, as he did Monday.

Kelly gets dunked on today by Notre Dame fans, as he should for seemingly not raising expectations to a true national championship level, and not putting in the effort in recruiting to make a roster capable of such a task.

Kelly left Notre Dame in horrible fashion but did some very good things along the way - none of which were bigger than getting Marcus Freeman on campus so the program would be in the hands of someone truly looking and working to elevate it.