Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman are Having a Rough Offseason Start

The 2026 season will be my tenth covering Notre Dame Football on YouTube.

Year after year, I've found myself repeating the same phrase. "There's never a dull moment in Notre Dame land."

And sure enough, we find ourselves here yet again.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, legal documents show Marcus Freeman was involved in an altercation at his son's recent wrestling match.

Notre Dame has already publicly supported Freeman's side of events, indicating recorded footage would prove he did nothing wrong but rather simply protected his son and family from an abusive, loud-mouthed opposing coach.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has been investigated regarding a battery accusation from an alleged altercation at his son’s high school wrestling meet at the beginning of the year.

Notre Dame said in a statement on Sunday that video evidence “fully exonerates” Freeman. pic.twitter.com/elKrVOdxqx
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 11, 2026

Notre Dame's wild news cycle continues

The last month has been a wild and mostly unfortunate news cycle for Notre Dame. The Irish missed the playoff, got ridiculed for opting out of a non-CFP bowl game, face ongoing fears of Freeman heading to the NFL, are getting off to a slow start in the portal, and now have this bizarre story to add to the list.

What Notre Dame needs now is just a little bit of positive momentum.

The perfect way to do that is to announce a large batch of portal signees, let this odd Freeman altercation story quickly pass, and lean into 2026 full bore with a very athletic returning roster and a top-five 2026 recruiting class incoming.

Coaches make a lot of money, but there are downsides to everything

Marcus Freeman is successful, rich, famous, and holds one of the most prestigious roles in all of sports, not just college football. While this sounds like a dream come true, there are downsides to everything.

When you have the profile Marcus Freeman has, he is a target. His wife and kids are targets. Targets of people who are jealous. People who can't stand to see others succeed.

Out in public, agitators have an advantage should they decide to go out of their way to offend a known celebrity/public figure. The public figure has more to lose than the agitator should the public figure lose their cool.

This instance is a reminder of just how hard it is to be a family member of a coach. Everyone involved must sacrifice and will face certain challenges that make "normal family life" a pipedream.

Marcus Freeman has faced a few tough circumstances in South Bend, and he will become stronger because of each challenge.

What comes next after this offseason? A clean slate for a talented Notre Dame team for the 2026 season.