Everything Notre Dame general manager Mike Martin said in introductory news conference

General manager Mike Martin addressed the media on Thursday for the first time since joining the Notre Dame football program on Feb. 27. Martin spoke to reporters for about 25 minutes to speak about his past experience, as well as his vision and early impressions of Notre Dame. Here is everything Martin said.

Opening statement

“Thank you for coming out. It’d be hard to have a press conference with no press. So, thank you all for coming out to support this, to cover this. Thank you for coming out to cover the team. 

“It was really important for me to start this thing off as a bang and to say all the right things. So last night, I called my brother — who’s been part of the media. I wanted some advice from him. I was like, ‘Hey, man, how should I start this off? He said, ‘You know what’s important? Like the key takeaways or the key things for you will be, to be honest, and to be brief.’ I promise you all I’ll be honest. 

“So, first, I want to thank God for this opportunity. I want to thank God for closing a lot of doors. On my journey here to South Bend, there’s been a lot of doors closed, but only for him to open up doors I didn’t even realize existed. So I’m grateful for that.

“So, like (it’s) just (a) complete honor to be up here. I’m excited about this opportunity. I’m excited about this place, this team and getting to know all of you and the staff here. 

“I’d like to start by also saying, if I can, a few things. I wanted to say thank you to my family. To my wife, who I would definitely not be here without her. Like, she’s made more sacrifices for me than I can count. If I had 1,000 tongues, it wouldn’t be enough to thank her enough for all of this, for everything she’s done for me. 

“I want to thank my children. As you guys can probably tell and follow, like faith is important to me. Football is important. But family is really, really important to me. So I want to thank my kids— my son, Madden Martin, my daughter Malone, who have allowed us, allowed their mother and I to drag them around six different states, and 11 different homes in 12 years. So without them being selfless and without their sacrifices like this, it wouldn’t be possible either. 

“I quickly want to thank the Detroit Lions. It’s been an awesome four-year ride there. (owner) Sheila Ford Hamp, (president and CEO) Rod Wood, (head coach) Dan Campbell, (general manager) Brad Holmes. It was really a fun time there, really great people, really great culture. It actually was what made this so attractive. I saw a lot of the same things here. That’s what made this opportunity attractive. So, I want to thank them. 

“I want to thank my OTT boys, who are there grinding right now in the draft room, sort of getting ready for this up-and-coming draft. Thank all of you. 

“I want to thank Notre Dame. I want to thank my new Notre Dame family. This has been awesome. I feel like I’ve been embraced ever since I got here, since I’ve arrived here. And I want to thank all of you for just taking me in and embracing me. 

“I want to thank Marcus Freeman. He’s a big part of why I’m here. I want to thank him for opening my eyes to this opportunity and offering this opportunity to me that I, again, didn’t realize existed. It’s been fun getting to know Marcus. 

“I know all of you know him, probably even better than I do, but I love his energy, love his charisma, love the presence that he has. The guy has just so much inside in terms of competitiveness and just fire. And I can see why the team is sort of built in his likeness. So it’s an honor and a privilege to be here. 

“The main reason I’m here is to support him and his vision for this program. Lastly, I want to thank (Notre Dame director of athletics) Pete Bevacqua. I want to thank (Notre Dame football deputy athletics director) Ron Powlus. I want to thank all the other members here that have been a key part of getting me here to the place where I am today.”

(interrupts first reporter’s question)

“Wait, wait, wait. I gotta say one more thing. I want to thank my parents. I would have been — my mom would have killed me if I didn’t say that. I knew I missed something. So I want to thank my mom, my dad. You know, speaking of sacrifices, I don’t know that anyone’s made greater sacrifices. So, my mom and dad are a big part of why I’m here.

“My family, in general. My brothers and sisters. I have a huge family, a beautifully blended family. We were kind of referred to as a Black Brady Bunch at one point So, awesome family, and they just kind of supported me in ways you couldn’t even imagine. I want to thank them. I want to thank you.” 

On what ways he has been forward-thinking and innovative

“Yeah, I think process is a big part of what I believe in. I think to everything there’s a process, and just sort of developing out those processes and being well thought out with those processes are a big thing. Even in evaluation, there’s a lot more than just, hey, seeing a talented kid play football. There’s a lot that goes into it.

“Digging and figuring out the background of kids. I’m a big believer in just the intangibles. So character will be a big part of it. I know here, like there’s so many people of character that, if you don’t have that, and if you’re not of a certain ilk, you’ll be a little out of place here. So, I want to make sure you guys understand process for me—it starts with some of the characters.

“Then when you get to the evaluation process, it’s identifying players that fit what we’re looking for, not just on the field, but just in terms of as a person. People that are open to being developed because it’s important that we develop young individuals, whether it’s football players, whether it’s athletes, whether it’s employees that I work alongside. It’s just important to develop them. 

“It’s important that they understand that we kind of share the goal of trying to reach team greatness, right? So it’s all a collaborative thing and a team thing, and team glory will be huge here. Marcus says it over and over again, ‘It’s about team glory.’ 

“So, developing processes that will allow us to find those types of people. Efficiency is important to me. So, just finding ways to be efficient. I know that this is sort of, it’s a little bit of a crazy deal. There’s players all over the country, and you’re hearing this guy’s a five star, this guy’s a four-star, this person’s a three-star. So just trying to figure out ways that we can evaluate them and put our own thoughts on individuals. 

“We won’t be driven or led by magazines. Like, we’ll work closely with a lot of different people, and we have a lot of respect, but we’ll have our own evaluation of people and players. So, it’s important just to create those types of processes.”

On his thought process with the transfer portal

“Similar to my beliefs in the NFL. I believed in the NFL throughout my career that you build through the draft, and you sort of supplement the roster in free agency. I mean, I’m sure you all heard that before. It’ll be very similar here. 

“We’re, again, we’re in the development business. So, we’re going to lean heavily on our recruits and the guys that we recruit out of high school. We’re going to make sure that we get the right people, the right individuals there.

“Look, we’re constantly looking to improve the roster. We’ll do some of that by going to the portal. We won’t live in the portal. Obviously, we have academic things here, right? The academic rigor, like we pride ourselves on that. So we won’t be able to reach out — we’re not looking to reach out to every single person in the portal. We’ll be very selective there. 

“But again, just all about bringing in the right people and also the right characters and the right fit for our team.”

On how his NFL background helps him and where he needs to learn and surround himself in areas where he doesn’t have experience 

“First, I’ll say that, I thought that last part, you said, ‘How will you surround yourself with people that can help you with experiences I don’t have?’ I believe in that. Like, I’ll be the first to tell you I won’t have every single answer. I’m learning. Shoot, I just learned where the bathroom was yesterday. So there’s a lot that I have to learn here. I’ll start there by saying, like, there’s a learning curve here for me — one that I’m excited to kind of take on. 

“But the recruiting elements will be sort of new to me. I’ve done some recruiting, but it’s undrafted rookie free agents or it’s recruiting guys in free agency. I will lean heavily on my staff. Fortunately, I’ve walked into this awesome staff that they’re well versed in the recruiting world, and so really, I’m coming in saying, ‘Hey, where can I add value?’

“This team made it to the national championship before I ever even stepped foot here. So they’re teaching me just much — I’m learning just as much from them as I look to teach.

“But I do think there’s some parallels, now, right? With the NFL, and with college. You mentioned the (transfer) portal. The portal is similar to free agency. There’s a lot of moving parts. So, just being able to understand what players are available there, who’s entered the portal, what type of talents exist there, and where can we look to add to our team and make improvements. 

“There’s, up and coming here in the near future, there will be revenue sharing. Which is, I don’t want to call it the cap, but there’s some similarities to where payers — obviously getting paid for name, image and likeness — there’s some things that need to be managed there. I think some of my experiences and past experiences helped me and set me up well for that job.”

On what was attractive about the challenge of unknowns in college football

“Yeah, I think we’ll be fluid. I think there’s a lot of unknown. There’s a lot of moving parts. I like the way you put it. The goalposts are moving. I think they continue to move. I don’t think there’s any set way.

“I think the challenge of it all, like some of the unknown, is what intrigued me about this job, right? Like, if there’s no challenge, I don’t want it. It’s not for me. So, I’m excited about this challenge. 

“Again, it’s hard to completely answer that, because I think there’s probably personnel departments, there’s GMs all across the country trying to figure out that same answer right now. Hopefully, I’ll be better versed to tell you down the road about that. But there, again, there’s a lot of moving pieces. 

“All I can tell you is, I’m excited about meeting them head-on and jumping into action whenever we get some idea of when things are going to happen and what it’s going to look like moving forward.”

On what makes Notre Dame director of scouting Matt Jansen so good and how much of a factor his relationship was to coming to Notre Dame

“It’s been awesome to walk into a building and see a familiar face. Again, he’s one that I’ll lean on heavily with his evaluations. He was really active in the portal this past year. We want to expand that for him and have him watch some of the high school stuff. 

“He’ll be an essential part of what we do moving forward. He just, he brings a lot of value, just in terms of, again, he’s a great people person. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he has a recruiting background. He’s been awesome there. So, he’ll be a big part in that recruiting office for us, but his evaluation skills will be crucial for us.”

On assigning value to positions and if he has gathered any differences in college compared to the NFL

“I think we’ll be fluid there. To every team, it’s a different situation, right? The team that we were last year won’t be where we are this year, and some of the ways we value positions, even that, will change. It changed year to year with Detroit. 

“I do think we have how we like to play football. That influences a lot of what we’ll look for. But whether it’s the offensive line, whether it’s running backs, regardless of whatever position it is, we’re more principled in the type of player. 

“But also, like, I do think, looking at it more, and I have obviously more research to do, but there’ll be areas that we’ll focus in on, and there’ll be specific players that we’re looking for for those positions. I have some idea of that, and I want to just continue to work through it.”

On when scouting and personnel became a passion

“Yeah, it was right after the NFL told me I wasn’t good enough to play. I played at Vanderbilt, enjoyed a career there — another awesome academic education there and academic school that did a lot for me. I look to try to play — just as most kids that age look to try to play — as long as they can. Opportunity just wasn’t there for me.

“It’s funny because I was taking a job at Cintas, the uniform company out in Arizona. I was limited to, ‘Hey, I’m going to go to American Express financials or Cintas, the uniform company. I was legit — I was out there accepting the job when I got a phone call. It was from Nancy Hasselman, who was Mark Dominik’s assistant there in Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This was right after they won the Super Bowl. She called and asked if I’d be interested in interviewing for a scouting assistant role. 

“So, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Man, I know I’m telling these people today that I’m gonna take this job. But going back to Tampa sounds good. And working for the world-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was that day when I decided, ‘Hey, man, this is something I’d like to look into.’

“I went there, was able to get the job. Then, right away, I realized this is something that I’m passionate about. I’ve been scouting for years, whether it was in Little League. Like, man, I don’t want to go against that guy. You’re kind of counting, like, ‘Okay, I want to be the third guy, so I don’t have to go against that big guy.’ I’ve been evaluating, and I’ve been evaluating talent, and so it took that opportunity to sort of bring that to the forefront. 

“It was right around there when I realized that, ‘Man, this is maybe something I can do for a career. Over the years, I’ve just grown more and more passionate about it. I love football, and I’m passionate about football. I’m passionate about building and constructing rosters. It’s just something that’s always just been fascinating to me.”

On when the door to be a college general manager opened in his mind 

“I never really thought about working in college, to be honest. It wasn’t something that was on my mind. It wasn’t something I was actively pursuing. 

“But then, yeah, I did get reached out to, and I thought about it. And I was like, ‘Man, well, wait.’ To me, it’s never been about NFL or college football. It’s always been about building and helping people develop. It’s always been about, to me, like developing young people so that we can get on the same page and so that they can win on and off the field. And also to win championships on and off the field. 

“I thought about it for a minute. I was like, ‘Well, wait, I’ve always dreamed of being a GM.’ So here I am as a GM. Nothing’s changed. My mission has stayed the same. It’s just identifying the right people — the right people with the right skill set and helping guide them to reach team glory and team greatness.”

On what qualities he sees in Notre Dame that resemble the Detroit Lions

“I would say the one thing—I think I knew a few things about Notre Dame prior. I knew about the prestige and the academic excellence. I knew about some of the success; the rich tradition on the football field. What I didn’t know is—I didn’t know about the people. I didn’t know about the network. I didn’t know about how interconnected everyone is here. 

“When I came and visited, I was like, ‘Man, like I’d heard about a Notre Dame network, and people seem to love Notre Dame, especially those that went to the school, but I actually felt it when I got here.’ The people believe in the program, they believe in the academics. It’s that belief that makes this place magical. 

“I would say, Jack Kiser probably said it best in his ‘the people speech.’ Like, I would say it’s the people. In Detroit, there are a lot of awesome people. Dan Campbell, one of the more sincere people, a great person. Brad Holmes, the same. I felt a lot of the similarities here from the minute I met Coach Free, Pete Bevacqua, Ron, all of the staff, my staff currently, like, it’s just a great feeling. That’s what makes this place special and that’s what drew me to this place.

On his background in sports science and analytics

“I got to work closely with analytics back in Detroit with what we called our football information department. We did a lot just in terms of trying to use numbers to identify statistical standouts. To try to help us just sort of narrow down the list and just using them as identifiers of talent.

“There’s all sorts of things. You can use just science and numbers and analytics to just not only evaluate talent, but just moving forward, what directions do we want to go? There’s just so many different uses for it. And fortunately, I got to be involved in that.

“There were so many things that we covered there. I don’t want to leave anything out, but I look forward to working with the team here on that. We got (Notre Dame director of analytics) Anthony Treash, and he’s awesome. Daily, we’ve already kind of put our heads together on some things and look forward to continuing to work with him.”

On his meeting with Bevacqua and how it impacted his decision to come to Notre Dame

“I don’t get starstruck a lot. I kind of was with Pete. I read his bio, and I told him it took me like 25 minutes to get through his bio. I was fascinated with all the things he’s done. The golf background, the NBC Sports—it was just a deep background.

“It was an interesting conversation and an awesome conversation where he told me a lot of the things that he’s experienced and some of the things he met with in his transition. Again, I enjoyed that conversation, and I appreciate him sharing all of those things.

“But as it relates to me, I plan on continuing to lean on my experiences, my past experiences and my background, and just using those things moving forward to continue to again, help Coach Free build this team and his vision.”

On why he thinks NFL personnel members are transitioning to the NFL

“It’s no surprise to me that people are drawn to these jobs. There’s a lot of similarities. Once people sort of realize that whether it’s an NFL logo or whether it’s a college logo, again, a lot of the objectives are the same, and there’s a lot of common trends and threads between the type of jobs that we’re doing. 

“I was excited to see (Lions director of football compliance/lead football counsel Jon) Dykema get that job (with Michigan State). Jon’s a really good guy who was my office neighbor. He’ll do a heck of a job there. 

“But I do think you’ll see more and more guys, probably from the NFL level, make that jump. To me, I see it on the same level. You’re doing similar things. You’re still evaluating talent; you’re still working on contracts and negotiating deals. A lot of those things are things that you do at the NFL level. So why not do it at these awesome universities and institutions?”

(Interjects to ask reporters a question)

“Can I ask one more thing? Well, I wanted to ask you guys a couple questions. Can you tell me any other schools where you can compete for national championships on the field and work in the classroom towards Ivy League-type degrees? Can you guys answer that for me? That’s what we’re doing here. So I just want to put that out there.”

“Also, can anyone in here tell me the significance of March 17, St. Patty’s Day, on our recruiting program, like, what’s the significance of that day?”

Reporters answer: “Pot of Gold Day.”

Martin: “So, Pot of Gold Day obviously is where we extend offers to the class of 2027. I think that’s a really cool thing, right? I think a lot of places, they send offers all throughout the year. I think Pot of Gold Day is a unique experience. So we made an experience out of the whole thing. 

I just want to point out that this place was the first place to do that. I think it’s the best place to do it. And I want you all to remember that March 17, St. Patty’s Day, belongs to the Irish.”