Maybe he never wanted to, but former Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman just unloaded a sly jab at his former team, all in an attempt to endure himself even more to Notre Dame fans and players.
It’s now well known that Freeman was named the new Irish head coach last week. It’s also well-known that he played linebacker under Jim Tressel at Ohio State before he ever got into coaching. Now, it’s also well-known that he threw a little jab at Ohio State in releasing an open letter via the Players Tribune to the Notre Dame family upon his promotion to head coach.
The letter started off fine and well and talked about being recruited by Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame and his choice to play in Columbus. The emotional letter also heaped praise on Notre Dame as you would expect. However, there was one section of the letter that made OSU fans raise their eyebrows in disappointment.
“I visited this university for the first time when I was about 16 or 17 years old and was recruited to play here,” wrote Freeman. “I had a choice to make, and in the end what it came down to was Ohio State or Notre Dame. And I chose Ohio State. I loved Tyrone Willingham. I thought he was a great coach, and to be honest, he reminded me a bit of my father.
“Fast-forward to last year, and you might have heard that I was being considered for a couple of coaching jobs. During that time, me and my wife, Joanna, took a trip down to Louisiana and then up here to South Bend — and when we got back home, it was another tough decision. I can’t tell you exactly what it was that told us to come to Notre Dame, but there was something. We all know there’s something different about Notre Dame. We all know it’s something special. And I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice.”
What? There’s no other way to take this than Freeman saying he made the wrong choice to pick to play his college football at Ohio State rather than Notre Dame. I don’t know how else you can read into it.
Notre Dame, this one’s for you.@PlayersTribune https://t.co/8RKDynmLvV
— Marcus Freeman (@Marcus_Freeman1) December 7, 2021
Call me old-fashioned or detached from the world today if you want, but there was no reason for Freeman to go there. I’m big on never burning any bridges if I don’t have to. By dunking on Ohio State in a letter to Notre Dame fans, he might have may have just burned down a bridge to any type of path back to OSU should he want it in the future, lest I remind you that OSU fans have long memories.
OSU and Jim Tressel gave Freeman many of the opportunities that have come to him since. He got his ever coaching job at Ohio State as a graduate assistant in 2010. The well-connected Buckeye program likely set his course with a bit of a cheat code for getting off the ground. There’s no doubt Freeman has worked hard and forged many of the roads he’s traveled on his own as well, but he is a part of a Buckeye brotherhood with big connections, coaching trees, and exposure.
And now, Freeman says he made a mistake going to Ohio State instead of Notre Dame?
Look, far be it for me to knock a guy for what he says or how he feels. I have no idea what may or may not have gone on behind the scenes between OSU and Freeman when he played, through coaching searches, or other things, but there was just no good reason to go there. He might think it adores him more to the Irish faithful, but there are plenty of other things that can be said or done to accomplish that. You can have a love for your alma mater and the team you are coaching all in the same, and nobody would blink an eye at it.
Not Touchdown Jesus, not the echoes that are stirring, and not any Irish eyes that are smiling.
Also, who knows what might be ahead for Freeman. He might not be successful at Notre Dame and he could be sent packing. He’s green and will have to learn some things on the fly. Will the Irish brass be patient if there are growing pains for a first-time head coach?
And … believe it or not, Ryan Day won’t be at Ohio State forever. We all know how long a head coach stays around the upper echelon of college football jobs these days, and one would have probably had Freeman on the shortlist of coaches that might be the natural fit running the show on the banks of the Olentangy someday.
Well, maybe not.
First day on the job, @Marcus_Freeman1.
Time to get to work!#BeIrish pic.twitter.com/AX0xJF57zT
— Jack Swarbrick (@NotreDameAD) December 3, 2021
Either way, Freman might benefit from what Ohio State can offer him down the road in one way or another. It’s not like the Buckeye brand would cast him aside completely, but this will always be in the back of the minds of the suits, administrators, and coaches that love the colors scarlet and gray, right?
Maybe Freeman said this not thinking about the ramifications and how it would look to Buckeye Nation. Or, maybe there’s a chip on his shoulder from things we don’t and maybe won’t ever know about. All I know is that when Notre Dame comes to Columbus to open the season in 2022, things just got a whole lot more interesting.
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