College Football

Notre Dame's new head coach Marcus Freeman joins 'The Herd'

Updated Dec. 7, 2021 11:28 a.m. ET

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A week ago, Brian Kelly sent shock waves through the college football landscape when he abruptly announced that he'd be leaving Notre Dame for LSU.

But this week, on the heels of Kelly's exit, the Fighting Irish found a replacement that the entire team can get behind: Marcus Freeman. 

A former Bears linebacker in the early 2010s, Freeman was hired as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in January after a four-year stint at Cincinnati. Already considered one of college football's fastest-rising stars prior to joining Kelly's regime, Freeman will see his head coaching dream come to full fruition as he closes out 2021.

And his players were absolutely stoked about his promotion.

"It's unbelievable how powerful you guys are," he told his players following the energetic eruption of elation above.

"That's why we're going to do great things, because we've got great leaders in this room. And when you want something done, you get it done. That's on the football field, that's off the football field, that's in leadership, that's in everything we do. This isn't about the future, about next year, about five years –– it's about finishing this season the right way."

Freeman joined Colin Cowherd on Monday's episode of "The Herd" to discuss his new role and the rigors he expects to face ahead as he takes on the toughest task of his life.

"I love challenges," Freeman said. "That's something I've always embraced. What a great opportunity. You're the head coach of the University of Notre Dame. You get a chance to live a life-long dream. This is a destination for a lot of people. I'm just going to take it day-by-day. When you think about the challenge in terms of how big it is, I think it can get overwhelming. But when you think about it task-by-task, day-by-day, I'm excited to get after it."

For Freeman, it's still a "pinch me" moment.

"When the athletic director called me and said, 'Are you really interested in being the next head coach of Notre Dame?' That was like, 'Oh man, this might really happen,'" he added. "It never was definite until I got the call, but you saw it slowly starting to happen. But until you finally get the call, there was always a little bit of doubt, like, 'Hold on –– are they really going to do this?'"

Marcus Freeman talks Brian Kelly's departure from Notre Dame & his own transition to head coach I THE HERD

Brian Kelly's departure from Notre Dame was just as much of a shock to new head coach Marcus Freeman as it was to the rest of the college football world. Colin Cowherd asks Freeman how he took the news and what he anticipates in his transition to head coach.

Well, this is reality, and the "destination job" for several coaches nationwide is now solely Marcus Freeman's.

And if his quotes don't paint a vivid picture of how much this job means to him, his introductory speech made it crystal clear.

Get ready Irish fans, the Marcus Freeman era is officially underway in South Bend.

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd