The accolades continue to roll in for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. On Wednesday night, Freeman won the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award. Freeman becomes just the second Notre Dame head coach to win the honor. Lou Holtz also won it in 1988. The award was first bestowed in 1986. Freeman is already this year’s recipient of the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award and the Bobby Dodd Trophy. He is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
Despite a rash of injuries and an early-season loss to Northern Illinois, Freeman landed the Irish in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Stumbling blocks included 13 different starters or key reserves missing games this season due to injuries. Those include defensive stars Benjamin Morrison and Rylie Mills, two of the Irish’s top players.
Marcus Freeman Named Bear Bryant Coach of the Year
A Record Run for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame
Following the loss to NIU, Notre Dame fell to No. 19 in the Associated Press poll. Freeman turned the shocking loss into a teaching moment for his young squad. He rallied the team, and the Fighting Irish ran off 13 consecutive wins. The impressive streak started with a dominating 66-7 win over Purdue the next week.
All told, Freeman led Notre Dame to a record-setting 14 wins this season. The Irish won the Sugar Bowl over Georgia, marking the first major bowl win by Notre Dame in 30 years. It was also the school’s first-ever win over the Bulldogs. One week later, the Irish defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl. That hard-fought victory landed Notre Dame in the National Championship game. The win over Penn State was the 14th-ranked win of the Freeman era at Notre Dame. That is more than any other Irish head coach in the first years of his tenure.
A Season to Remember
Despite the tough 34-23 loss to Ohio State, Notre Dame enjoyed a season to remember. It was a brilliant season for Freeman and the Irish. Notre Dame finished the year ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. It is the highest postseason finish for the program since 1993. Freeman’s exceptional ability to guide the Irish through adversity and achieve such remarkable success makes his Coach of the Year awards thoroughly deserved.
