When former head coach Brian Kelly bolted for LSU in 2021, it was because he wanted to win titles. On the surface, 12 years at the helm of one of the most storied programs in college football is enough to build a championship legacy — but in Kelly’s eyes, Notre Dame lacked the commitment and investment to allow him to achieve that goal. Many fans agreed. As Kelly told The Associated Press before his first spring practice in Baton Rouge, La., “I want to be in an environment where I have the resources to win a national championship.” LSU and the SEC, in short, offered the means necessary to succeed in today’s landscape, providing vast recruiting resources, superior facilities and a football-above-all culture; Notre Dame arguably lacked in all of said areas. That is, until they hired first-time head coach Marcus Freeman as Kelly’s successor.
Notre Dame historically maintained strict policies concerning academic requirements for student-athletes. Until recently, the university’s lack of compromise on the academic prerequisites for undergraduate transfers had forced the program to rely on traditional high-school scouting, a potentially fatal deficiency in the NIL era. Further, after years of strict policies on potential early enrollees, the practice is now much more liberalized. In fact, all but five players in the Irish’s 2026 top-three ranked recruiting class are currently on campus and will participate in spring football.
Generally speaking, during the first four years of Freeman’s tenure, the Irish landed enough cherished roster talent to land top-10 to -15 recruiting classes. This year, however, buoyed by the university’s deepened commitment to NIL, Freeman put his top-tier ability to connect with players to ultimate effect. It showed most apparently last summer when, following official visits, 11 of Freeman’s top 12 targets signed to wear Blue and Gold, including five-stars like safety Joey O’Brien, cornerback Khary Adams and tight end Ian Premer.
Perhaps more importantly, however, regarding their elite recruiting class, the Irish snagged five-stars in Ohio State wide receivers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter and Alabama edge Keon Keeley from the transfer portal — all undergraduates. Not only did Notre Dame approve such moves on the front end, but admissions did so uncharacteristically fast. With this year’s portal open for only 15 days (as opposed to a roughly 60-day total window in previous years), Notre Dame could not remain obstinate as it did under Kelly; it could not leave Freeman hanging when time is of the essence in the wild portal season, and schools like Michigan and Tennessee are knocking on doors with certainty. And that it did not.
The school gradually made incremental changes elsewhere in the program to make this possible, too. With an upgraded stadium and practice facility, all Freeman could consider a large need on the resources side was a new operations center. In 2024, the university delivered the announcement of the 150,000-square-foot Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall; the state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to open this fall. When describing his decision to transfer during the winter press conference on Feb. 18, Keeley said, “I basically knew once I stepped back on campus that I was gonna go to Notre Dame.” While recent renovations and the building of Shields Hall do not necessarily take all of such glory, it attests to a developed football-centric environment that attracts the guys highlighted on Freeman’s list. Keeley backed out of a verbal commitment to the Irish for the Crimson Tide out of high school; three years later, he left for greener pastures in his mind.
At the end of the day, all of this is really only critical to keeping the Irish in the football arms race — USC, for instance, is working on a 160,000-square-foot center opening this summer; Oregon, a 170,000-square-foot training building opening next year. But it goes to show that when Freeman believes something will help the team take a step toward the College Football Playoff — whether regarding recruitment or staff additions — Notre Dame is ready to bend.
Apart from players, the program has invested in coaches with elite credentials that Freeman wants around. Last February, when running backs coach Deland McCullough departed for the Las Vegas Raiders, Freeman poached Ja’Juan Seider from Penn State almost immediately, despite Seider having an extremely talented running back room, considered at the time to be elite and on par with the Irish. This offseason, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge left the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts for South Bend; a month later, Michigan’s Brian Jean-Mary and Illinois’ Aaron Henry joined the staff as linebackers coach and defensive backs coach, respectively. This ability to replenish the inevitable assistant coaching line is the dual result of Freeman as an elite boss and highly competitive compensation. In the past six years, coordinator salaries at Notre Dame have nearly tripled and are in line with the industry’s top tier.
In a Dec. 9 press conference, athletic director Pete Bevacqua said, “One of my main obligations and responsibilities to this university is to make sure [Freeman] wakes up every day knowing that he is supported and valued by Notre Dame.” Essentially, with Freeman running the show, the university has become “totally aligned around the importance of college football for Notre Dame.” Maybe the problem was never Kelly’s environment and its lack of necessary championship materials. Maybe Kelly simply did not believe in Notre Dame, and Notre Dame did not believe in him. Under Freeman, however, the university is all in. Coaches no longer need to travel south to find the resources required to hoist the ultimate trophy. They can do it in South Bend.
