Marcus Freeman on SportsCenter: Notre Dame coach comments on being NFL candidate

On Saturday, Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman joined SportsCenter with ESPN’s Hannah Storm — a Notre Dame graduate. Here is everything he said about being an NFL head coaching candidate and more during a 12-minute interview. Quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

On what the win was like with the responsibility of leading his team while in New Orleans 

“It was kind of a whirlwind of a day. You wake up in the morning, and you’re notified that some incident happened in the middle of the night. Some people passed away.

“Then you still have the mindset that we’re playing a game. So we met in the morning, did our normal pre-game routine, and did our walk-throughs. Then, as we broke to return to our rooms, I got another phone call that said, ‘Hey, we’re going to postpone this game till tomorrow.’ So right then, we had to get back together and come up with a plan. We didn’t know what time we would play the next day.

“As you’re going through a plan in terms of, ‘Okay, if we play at 2 o’clock, if we play at 7 o’clock, if we play on Friday,’ you forget, ‘Hold on, there’s some morning going on.’ So we got the team together, and we discussed it. We also had to talk about what we had to do to be prepared for this next opportunity we had the next day.

“We had to be with what our players needed us to be then. Each player might have needed something different. But they handled it perfectly. They could go out and get the job done the next day.”

On what he was most pleased with about Notre Dame football’s win over Georgia

“That is a really good Georgia football team that we faced — physical, talented. What I probably was most pleased with was our guys continued to battle. Our guys were just as physical.

“When we were opportunistic, we took advantage of those opportunities that came to us, and that’s what happened. That was the result of that span of what you just talked about, those 10-17 points; it was being opportunistic.

“You get a sack fumble right before the half, and our guys on the next play go and score a touchdown. Then, you come out of half, and we say, ‘Hey, we want to be aggressive and attack.’ We take the kick-off to the house.

“So just how you draw it up (laugh), our guys were very opportunistic. I’m proud of the way they performed for 60-plus minutes.”

On how thankful he is for the NIU loss

“I remember telling Riley the same thing I told the team the following day: ‘We will be grateful for this loss, and this will be the greatest thing that happened to us if we continue to remember the lessons that this game has taught us.’

“That’s the thing. There were so many valuable lessons from that game that we have to continue to utilize. It’s a reflection of life. Things don’t always go exactly how you foresee them, but there are learning opportunities in every event, and sometimes, the best learning opportunities come from failure.

“That’s what I want our guys to understand. You don’t want to fail too much. Especially, I won’t be here long if we continue to fail. But there are great opportunities to learn from failure. If we can keep the pain — as I always say — and remember those learning opportunities that the game taught us, then it will be the greatest thing that happened to us, but we have to continue to do that.”

On how senior QB Riley Leonard has grown throughout the season

“Tremendously. I remember the meeting Riley was talking about after the NIU game, and I remember saying, ‘In two weeks, you’ve experienced the highest of highs of being the quarterback at Notre Dame and the lowest of lows.’ No other position in this program emulates the head coach than the quarterback at Notre Dame.

“I think he learned that you can’t get your joy from what outsiders say about you. You get your joy from playing this game with your teammates. You play this game with confidence. That’s where I’ve seen him grow the most: the confidence that he’s playing with.

“That smile he has on his face, the way he plays this game, is just a reflection of his love for his team, the fun he’s having playing with his teammates. Man, he’s so competitive he finds a way to get his job done. We’re so grateful to have him here.”

On the biggest challenge facing Notre Dame against Penn State

“We quickly had to turn our attention to Penn State after this game. When you start watching film, you see a talented, tough, disciplined football team.

“Offensively, they do so many different things. They’re just going to challenge some of your rules, and you got to be disciplined with your eyes. Defensively, they create pressure. They got some really good players. They’re tight end, and their defensive end is as good as anybody you’ll see in college football.

“So we got to handle the preparation. We know our opponent is. But we have to continue to prepare the right way. Our guys will be ready to roll when we kick off in Miami. We have to focus on staying in the moment. We got to focus on the preparation it takes to give us a chance to have the outcome we want when we play in Miami.”

On the meaning behind potentially being the first Black head coach in the national championship

“It’s humbling to hear that. You’re grateful. The more I thought about this, the more I wanted to make sure that I gave my mom a shout-out because I got a chance to be the first Asian — half-Black, half-Asian — head coach to coach in the college football championship game.

“It’s a great reminder that you’re a representation for many. Many of those guys that look like me are in our team meeting room. I want them to understand that you can do anything you want to, as long as you continue to put the work in — believe you can achieve anything.

“But I don’t love that it takes away from the team glory. This isn’t about one person. I’m honored to hear those things and to be put in that conversation. But this thing won’t happen without everybody in this program. That’s what I want our guys to understand about this more than anything.

“It’s important for the media to do their job and have some individual glory, but we need everybody in this program to get their job done so we can achieve the team glory we aspire to have. So that, to me, is more important than anything because we all commit to doing what it takes to succeed. We’ll see what the future holds.”

On what is special about the team and what it means to the Fighting Irish faithful

“One of the greatest things about this job and what we do is the smile you get to put on the face of others. I’ve seen some of the videos and the post-game. I mean, it’s almost emotional as you think about the ability of this football team to affect so many others.

“There were a lot of people at that game who stayed longer than they were supposed to support this football team, but there were also people who couldn’t stay and had to return. That’s what it’s all about. We’re all in this thing together. Through the good and the bad, we’re in this thing together.

“I think if we have that mindset, great things will be achieved. This isn’t about me. It’s not about just us. It’s about all of us — Notre Dame, our program. It is about this university. It’s about everybody involved in this place striving to do great things together. The next opportunity is going to be here versus Penn State.”

On how playing the first playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium set the tone

“What a special environment that was. I’ve been a part of a lot of special games here, but there’s nothing like that. It’s not very often that you get to say you’re a part of ‘the first,’ and we were a part of the first home playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium.

“Our challenge is to continue to elevate. Like, we have to continue to improve. That reflection — the reflection of the improvement — happened when we played Indiana. We had a really good week of preparation, and you know what? We got the outcome we wanted.

“It’s the same thing as you talk about as we got into Georgia. It’s about preparation during the week and improving. And then, you know what, we’re going to go out and play that game. We have to keep that sameness of approach as we go to this next opportunity. Our opponent is Penn State, but our daily challenge is to continue to elevate and find ways to improve because there’s another level. It doesn’t happen by hoping and thinking about it. It happens by the work you put in.

“So we got to focus on continuing to put the work in, and then, when you get this opportunity versus Penn State, go out there and have fun and let it fly.”

On being an NFL head coaching candidate

“I don’t know when they announced it, I can’t remember, but about a week or two ago, they announced another long contract here at Notre Dame. So, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”