The mood at Notre Dame couldn’t have been more exciting following the appointment of Marcus Freeman as the new Fighting Irish head coach. Brian Kelly’s surprising departure to LSU created an air of uncertainty at Notre Dame: the team had just lost a hugely successful coach at a pivotal point in the season.
With no outside option available to take the job, Notre Dame recruited from within, promoting defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach. The 35-year-old brought his family with him when he gave his first press conference as manager. Marcus couldn’t resist the excitement as he thanked his wife, Joanna Freeman, for her support.
Marcus married his wife, Joanna Freeman, in 2010 and they have six children.
Marcus and Joanna Freeman were college sweethearts at Ohio State. The couple married in February 2010. “Celebrating 10 years of being married to the love of my life and the glue of the Freeman family,” Freeman wrote in a February 2020 post. “Happy Anniversary Jo!”
Joanna and Marcus have welcomed six children: Rocco, Vinny, Capri, Gino, Siena, and Nico. Marcus’s voice cracked with emotion as he thanked his wife for her support. He also apologized to his children for accepting such a demanding job. marcus said:
“My wife, my partner, thank you for your selflessness. Thank you for always being there and for your support, most of the time. You can be my harshest critic. To my children Vinny, Siena, Geno, Rocco, Capri, Nico. You didn’t ask for his. You didn’t ask your dad to share. But you have to. And I love you.”
Marcus also posted a photo of the family on Instagram, thanking the Notre Dame community for their support. “My family and I want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support,” Marcus wrote. “This is a special community and we are lucky to continue to be a part of it.”
Joanna helped Marcus choose and stay with Notre Dame
Marcus’ first opportunity to join Notre Dame came when the team drafted him out of high school. Notre Dame ticked a lot of boxes for Marcus, but he chose Ohio State to play under beloved coach Tyrone Willingham.
Nearly a couple of decades later, Notre Dame offered him a job as defensive coordinator. Like last time, Marcus was faced with two choices: Louisiana or Notre Dame. Marco wrote in Players’ Tribune that he and Joanna leaned towards Notre Dame:
“I can’t tell you exactly what it was that told us to come to Notre Dame, but there was something. We all know that there is something different at Notre Dame. We all know it’s something special. And I thank God I didn’t make the wrong decision twice.”
When Brian Kelly left for LSU, he asked Marcus to join him as defensive coordinator. “I said, ‘I need a job, but can I talk to my wife?’” Marcus said. ND Insider. “That’s all I said, ‘Can I talk to my wife?’”
Joanna and Marcus considered the fate of the Notre Dame players if he took the job at LSU. The couple decided that it would be selfish to leave the team. Therefore, Marcus decided to stay and fight for the highest position. Joan said ND Insider:
“(Marcus said) We have this bowling game coming up, we can’t – ‘I don’t want to leave these kids.’ And that was the first time I really looked at him and thought, ‘He really loves Notre Dame. He really loves these kids. He loves Notre Dame and he wants to be here. So I took a deep breath and I knew he was going to get this job. Not for himself, but for these guys.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn