Why 2024 is such a critical season for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Marcus Freeman is well aware of the history.
Famously, Year 3 is a sink-or-swim season for a Notre Dame head coach.
Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz all won a national title in their third seasons with the Irish. Brian Kelly played for the championship in 2012, his Year 3. Conversely, Bob Davie stumbled to 5-7 in his third season and never recovered. Same for Charlie Weis, who went 3-9 and was axed two years later. Ty Willingham didn’t even make it to Year 4, getting fired before the end of his third season.
So what’s in store for Marcus Freeman in 2024, who is 19-8 as the head coach of the Irish and enters a pivotal season with his most talented team to date?
“Every time I go to a Notre Dame club, I hear about that,” Freeman said recently in sit-down with local reporters in South Bend.
“I don’t even try to put that pressure on our program or myself to say, ‘We have to win the national championship in Year 3.’ Our vision is still the same. We got to reach our full potential. How good is that? What does that do for us? We’ll see.”
We’ll see, indeed.
Why 2024, Year 3 is so critical for Marcus Freeman
If the Irish do reach their “full potential” in 2024, then they’ll be in the mix for a title this fall.
With staff upgrades (OC Mike Denbrock is back for his third stint in South Bend), consecutive Top 10 classes and an impressive haul of transfers (Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive lineman RJ Oben and wideouts Beaux Collins from Clemson and FIU’s Kris Mitchell), this is the best roster Freeman has had since taking over for Kelly in 2022.
Their schedule, typically among the hardest nationally, includes as many Group of 5 programs (Northern Illinois, Miami (OH), Navy and Army) as surefire bowl teams (Texas A&M, Louisville, Florida State and USC).
ESPN’s FPI gives the Irish the highest odds in the country (15.8%) to go undefeated in 2024.
That’s why the pressure is on Freeman & Co., to capitalize on this moment.
It’s not that this is the storied Year 3 for the latest Notre Dame head coach. It’s the culmination of all the lessons learned the last two seasons — both good and bad — that have positioned the Irish to truly believe they can contend for a championship in 2024.
“What you’re looking to enhance is different in Year 3 than it was in Year 1,” Freeman said.
“In Year 1, you’re trying to figure out what to do: How do I want to run practice? OK, you’re the leader of this program, what does that mean? There’s no playbook for this thing. You have to learn. So, Year 3, I’ve spent a lot of time these last couple weeks in May figuring out how to prepare better.”
When Freeman was swiftly promoted after Kelly bolted for LSU, there was effervescent excitement around Notre Dame’s fresh, chic new leader. The Irish were a preseason Top 5 team with lofty expectations in 2022, and the belief was Freeman was the guy to elevate the program to even greater heights.
Only, their first-time head coach was clearly in over his head. With lackluster quarterback play and questionable in-game management, Notre Dame started the season 3-3 with embarrassing home losses to Marshall and Stanford.
They rallied to finish the year 9-4, but it wasn’t too soon to start asking questions about Marcus Freeman.
The young, charismatic head coach answered some doubters with last year’s 10-3 season, but the staff and overall roster still weren’t quite up to snuff.
Both are now, though, and Freeman is also much more prepared to be the team’s CEO — gaining valuable wisdom on and off the gridiron this offseason.
The 38-year-old coach spent time sitting down with multiple NFL coaching staffs including Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Harbaugh brothers Jim (Los Angeles Chargers) and John (Baltimore Ravens). The most interesting instruction actually came from a 36-hour trip in the Pacific Ocean onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
It was on the giant aircraft carrier that Freeman witnessed a different kind of leadership and preparation that he believes provides positive templates for Notre Dame’s football team this fall.
“It was amazing,” Freeman said, recounting the experience.
“Basically, what the Admiral was telling me was they were going through spring ball. They were going to get ready to dock, and then they’re going to go out for the game. That’s when it’s real. We were talking about how they were practicing. What are they looking for? How many mistakes they make. How do they correct them.
“They have 5,000 people on that battleship, but it was so good for me to just get different perspective, different ideas of how to prepare better and then say, ‘OK, what’s best for Notre Dame football?’ I gained lot of wisdom just talking to some experienced individuals.”
How that “wisdom” translates could be the difference between Notre Dame simply earning a spot in the College Football Playoff or actually doing something once it makes it.
Freeman enjoyed his trip on the water this summer, but the Irish have only shipwrecked in their most recent championship hopeful seasons.
It’s been the National Lampoon: Crappiest Cruise Vacations for Notre Dame in the program’s quest for titles in the modern era. Every so often, they can afford the nicest accommodations and the fancy restaurants, only it rains the whole time and they always get food poisoning.
2012 — Smoked 42-14 by Alabama in the National Championship
2018 — Waxed 30-3 by Clemson in CFP Semifinal
2020 — Blasted 31-14 by Alabama in CFP Semifinal
That should not be the case this fall.
If Riley Leonard is healthy at quarterback, Notre Dame should be a lock for the 12-team field. This is a team that should be able to trade blows with any in the country, starting with a pressure-filled Week 1 showdown at Texas A&M.
Their ceiling — and goals — are higher than that, though — even if they can’t be seeded higher than No. 5 overall.
Notre Dame’s receiver room is much improved, and Al Golden’s defense features half a dozen sixth-year seniors and All-American talents at corner (Benjamin Morrison) and safety (Xavier Watts). There are some concerns about replacing Joe Alt at tackle, but no team, not even Georgia or Ohio State, is flawless.
For all the talk about the Buckeyes or Ole Miss push their chips into the middle for an all-in season, Notre Dame is in a similar situation. The fact that it’s Year 3 for Marcus Freeman may or may not be coincidental, but there’s little doubt he needs to make the most of a potentially special 2024 season.