Marcus Freeman Has A Lot To Prove In Year Five Of Notre Dame Tenure

Marcus Freeman is no longer a new coach. The stakes are high, and expectations are off the charts as he begins his fifth year in South Bend.

Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman (right) leads the team onto the field to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

It feels like just yesterday Marcus Freeman was announced as Notre Dame's head coach. Irish fans remember well when he burst into the locker room and celebrated his promotion with his new team for the first time. In a flash, we are now already entering year five of Freeman's tenure.

A lot has happened in these quick four years, some great, some awful. Now comes a year where the Irish aren't an underdog, but are one of the favorites to win the national title. It's go time.

Notre Dame nuance clouds the black and white of the record books

On paper, Marcus Freeman has succeeded at Notre Dame, generally speaking. He features a 43-11 record overall and has three playoff wins under his belt, three more major bowl wins than the program has had in the last 30 years combined.

On top of this, he's beloved by the university powers that be, the media, and the fan base because, unlike recent Irish coaches, Freeman works hard and treats people the right way.

But if we look at Freeman's tenure another way, he's had one great year and three that were not. This is where the Notre Dame nuance comes in. Sure, things were rocky in Freeman's first two years, but he was a brand-new head coach learning on the fly at Notre Dame of all places. I feel that most people allow some grace in this instance.

As for 2025, regardless of whether the CFP committee colluded to burn the Irish or not, Notre Dame lost the two biggest games of the year and missed the tournament. This is by definition a failure. And that leads us to this pivotal fifth year.

NEW: Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman tells @jdpickell how he's using being left out of the college football playoffs as motivation👀

"We left doubt. So don't blame somebody else for the situation that we were in...

We have to leave no doubt. In order to do that, you gotta leave no… pic.twitter.com/j2pb0MMTY0

— On3 (@On3) March 12, 2026

Notre Dame is a title favorite and must play like it for all 12 games

There is no more nuance, there are no excuses. Notre Dame has a terrific athletic roster, a high-level staff that Freeman has put together, a Heisman-level quarterback, and a very favorable schedule. Anything short of a deep playoff run would be a failure. And that would mean that only one year out of five has been a success.

I completely understand why the NFL is interested in Freeman. He has plenty of wins under his belt, and he's been brilliant with the media and the public relations game. He knows how to carry himself.

While the NFL may indeed be in Freeman's future, he has a job to complete in South Bend, and this year feels like the year to get it done.