You are the reason I get up every day and work as hard as I can to see you all reach your goals. “You are my why,” Freeman said of his former players. He also thanked his players, both past and present. The crowd cheered him on as he regained his composure and continued. He tried to fight it and even said, “dang it,” but he couldn’t hold it back. That’s when Freeman got emotional and started to shed a tear. And I vow to work tirelessly to never disappoint you.” “Thank you for making a decision to believe in a 35-year-old first-time head coach. “Thank you for challenging everything,” he said. You didn’t ask to share your dad, but you have to, and I love you.”Īfter thanking his kids, Freeman thanked Father John Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick for this opportunity. “To my kids - Vinny, Siena, Gino, Rocco, Capri, Nico - I got all six?” he said. Then he turned his attention to his children, and that’s when he and a lot of people watching got a bit emotional. You can be my toughest critic, but thank you for just being there.” Thank you for always being there and your support most of the time. “My wife, my partner, thank you for your unselfishness. “I want to start with my wife Joanna,” Freeman said. “I’ve kind of told you their story, but I just want you to know, when others say just be yourself, I am me because of you,” he would later add. “I get my unselfishness and other-centered focus from my mother, and that’s exactly how I will lead this football program.” “I get my discipline, my work ethic, my honesty from my father,” Freeman said. He thanked his parents – his dad, a 26-year member of the Air Force, and his mom, a Korean immigrant who came to America in the 1970s. Family is important to Freeman, as we found out as he spoke. He entered his arena flanked by his wife and six children and was followed by the seven captains of the 2021 Fighting Irish, who led the internal charge to have Freeman elevated to head coach. Marcus Freeman exuded it on Monday afternoon. He was just himself, and in the process, he absolutely nailed his first official press conference as the head coach of the Fighting Irish.Īuthenticity is hard to fake. Hell, he didn’t even have to fake an accent to try to fit in. He didn’t use a lot of cliches or coachspeak. Notre Dame officially introduced Marcus Freeman as its new head football coach on Monday afternoon, and just as he’s won over the Notre Dame players over the last eleven months, he won over everyone watching simply by being himself and embracing Notre Dame.
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