Notre Dame football’s Marcus Freeman named Bear Bryant Coach of the Year
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was named the 2024 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year on Wednesday night.
According to the Bryant Awards website, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award annually recognizes the country’s top college football coach for their contributions both on and off the field, as well as efforts to make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life.
One previous Notre Dame coach has won the Bear Bryant Award: Lou Holtz in 1988.
Freeman was also the winner of the 2024 Dodd Trophy and the 2024 George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, and was selected as the honorary head coach for the 2024 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team
Freeman accepted the award in Houston Jan. 22, just two days after his team fell in the national championship game 34-23 against Ohio State.
“We are honored to award Coach Freeman this year’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award, recognizing his exemplary efforts both on and off the field,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association. “This signature award honors the legacy of Coach Bryant, by acknowledging his same high standard of excellence in today’s college football coaches. The collaboration between the Bryant family and the American Heart Association on both the annual awards and recruiting college football programs to join the Nation of Lifesavers™ advances our efforts for a world of longer, healthier lives. Congratulations to all of the finalists.”
The other finalists for the award were South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Boise State’s Spencer Danielson, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee, Army’s Jeff Monken and Syracuse’s Fran Brown.
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Freeman’s squad saw quite the turnaround in the 2024-25 season after his team suffered the lowest of lows, dropping a contest to MAC school Northern Illinois Sept. 7. The Irish went in playoff mode after that and rattled off 13 straight victories, including a Sugar Bowl win against Georgia and an Orange Bowl triumph over Penn State.
Fourteen wins set a new program record, and the Fighting Irish finished the season ranked No. 2 in both the AP and AFCA Top 25 polls. During his three-plus year tenure at Notre Dame, Freeman has posted a record of 33-10.
Notre Dame finished out the regular season as one of the most balanced teams in the country, leading the nation in passing efficiency defense (94.10), turnovers gained (28) and in defensive touchdowns (6). The Irish also ranked among the top teams nationally in several other categories in the regular season, including: second in turnover margin (1.33), third in scoring defense (13.6), fourth in scoring offense (39.8) and 10th in total defense (296.8), among others.
