Marcus Freeman focused on building trust with his players

The game of football continues to evolve year after year as more and more nuance is added to the game. But coaching players? Not so much.

Balancing being a disciplinarian and being an ally is something that all collegiate football coaches have to stabilize and maintain, and on a recent appearance on ‘The Pivot Podcast’, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman spoke on how he does just that.

“If you don’t hold these dudes accountable, you don’t hold them to a standard, you’re failing them, right?” Freeman asked hosts Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder. “And you’ve got to get them to understand that man, we’re going to push you and hold you accountable and push you to places you can’t imagine because we care about you.”

Freeman’s goal is to get the most our of all of his players in South Bend, leaving no stone unturned, but doing so definitely requires a certain level of trust.

“We care about you and I don’t want you to come back and say I wish you would’ve did more. I don’t want you to go to another school or the NFL and say man coach, this guy is getting more out of me than you did. You know what I mean? I’d rather get everything out of you than just be your buddy,” Freeman explained.

But trust is earned, not given, and Freeman knows a big pillar in gaining that trust from his stems from his own staff and their ability to be knowledgeable and proficient in their craft.

“But trust takes time, it’s intentional, trust is earned and I tell our coaches all the time, one it’s through competence,” Freeman said. “Like do you know what the hell you’re talking about? If you’re coming to meetings and you don’t know what you’re talking about, a player’s telling you you’re making mistakes, you’re going to lose the competence that you’re supposed to have.”

Competency may earn a certain level of respect from 18 to 22-year-olds, but character earns trust. As Freeman continues to strive for himself and his staff to build meaningful and dependable relationships with their players as he enters his second season at the helm for the Fighting Irish.

“But it’s about character, do they see you, do they see your actions, are you a man of your word, can they watch you and say okay he’s living the life that he preaches about. But the third thing is the connection, do you do intentional actions to make sure that you’re building trust?” Fereman asked. “Like do I have kids intentionally coming to my office and say hey sit down with me let’s talk. You have to be intentional, it doesn’t just happen, and so if we can do that now you can continue to push. They’ll trust you. You can push kids as far as they trust you man, if not, blind obedience.”