Marcus Freeman hopes to continue traditions, including USC rivalry, independence

I’ve been among the many who’ve been impressed with what Marcus Freeman has built in South Bend through his first three seasons as Notre Dame’s head coach. In fact, I was so impressed with how he coached this season that I said following Notre Dame’s national title game loss to Ohio State that I think he could win a championship soon if he opts to stay in South Bend.

So, we decided to bring "Big Noon Conversations" to South Bend and interview Freeman for the premiere of the show’s third season. As Freeman prepares for his fourth season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish, he and I touched on numerous items throughout our 30-minute conversation. We discussed Notre Dame’s independent status, the future of its rivalry with USC, learning from his early losses as head coach and carrying on the program’s tradition.

Here are some of the highlights of my conversation with Freeman.

Parts of this interview were edited for brevity. 

Klatt: I’ve gotta tell you, and I didn’t want to tell you before you sat down, because I didn’t want to steal this line and I hate to break it to all of you out there. This is my singular favorite spot in college football, the locker room at Notre Dame Stadium.

Freeman: I appreciate that. We’ve gotta make sure we get that message out there a little bit more. 

It’s incredible, and they did a little bit of this before you became the head coach, but mixing the old with the new, going out the door and down the tunnel and all the history. Yet, it’s a modern program that’s excelling. I feel all of that when I walk into this building and it’s just quintessentially college football, which is really cool. 

That’s what we want it to be. You can’t get away from the things that have made this place