“He really loves Notre Dame. He really loves these kids; he loves Notre Dame, and he wants to be here.” If not for Joanna Freeman, Marcus Freeman’s wife, the head coach might have packed his bags and left with Brian Kelly at LSU. Kelly, at the time, too, was hellbent on roping Freeman as LSU’s DC. What stood between that move was Freeman’s six kids and the prospect of moving them to a wholly new place, apart from the head coach’s love for the Irish. Eventually, he stayed, and it had a lot to do with how he was brought up by his parents.
Marcus Freeman’s father, Michael Freeman, is an Army veteran and served for 26 years, which shaped his whole career starting from his childhood. For the Irish head coach, right from his childhood, communication became a crucial part of his life. “Marcus has always talked to people and communicated with people. He’s always been able to look a person in the eye and talk to them,” said Michael Freeman. However, little did a young Marcus Freeman know that the qualities that his military family instilled in him would lead him to become the head coach of one of the storied programs in college football.
“Love your country. Love your community. Those are things that we talked about at an early age. That’s what you get. Talk to people and treat people the way you’d like to be treated. Those are the types of things we kind of practice in our household,” recalled Michael Freeman. These qualities paved the way for Freeman to become the ‘charming’ head coach that he is right now. Sure, he did climb the coaching ranks starting from 2010 as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, like other coaches, but the qualities still helped him excel in every aspect. So, learning from his childhood, Freeman still follows the same blueprint for his children.
Marcus Freeman, in a recent interview with Michael Strahan posted by Notre Dame’s official X account, recalls how he manages his fatherhood duties and head coaching job. And guess what? It’s not possible to manage his six kids without his wife, for which he is “grateful” to her.
“I think about growing up, and my father instilled in me routine, getting up early, discipline, toughness, and work ethic. Those are things that as a father and as a coach and a grown-up, I instill in myself, but also into my children. Right, is that routine and the hard work? And you know, those types of things that being a military child, you learned at an early age,” said Marcus Freeman.
Individual success is a reflection of team glory
Coach @Marcus_Freeman1 joined @GMA this morning to talk about unit strength, his family, our team and the upcoming season #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/91Ehk7sKCt
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) July 17, 2025
Freeman married his wife, Joanna Freeman, in February 2010 when he was at Ohio State and met her through a mutual friend. The relationship soon grew and within years blossomed into a lovely family, now 6 children strong. Vinny, who is 17, is a junior at Penn State and plays football. Siena, who is 12, shared a deep bond with the Cincinnati team when Freeman was there. Apart from them, Gino (11), Nico (9), Capri (7), and Rocco (6) are also developing well and regularly feature in Freeman’s family posts. As for his wife, Joanna, Marcus Freeman acknowledged the sacrifices she made for his career.
Marcus Freeman remembers his wife as a secret to his success
For regular folks, parenting with one or two children becomes quite stressful. So, imagine a house full of 6 children running around, making their own mischief, and giving a new challenge every day to undertake. Yes, that’s how life at the Freeman household feels, and managing that would not be possible without the head coach of the house, Marcus Freeman’s wife, Joanna. According to Freeman, without Joanna, he would still be tackling those fatherly responsibilities if not for Joanna.
“Number one, an unselfish wife, I always say, like I could not do my job if she wasn’t taking care of the major things at home. When I come home sometimes and my wife has to go somewhere, they call me the babysitter, right? Dad’s babysitting tonight, and I’m saying, ‘Hold on, I’m your father, I’m not the babysitter.’ Like, what are we talking about?” said Marcus Freeman about the secret of his success on Joel Klatt’s podcast.
Right now, Marcus Freeman is probably ‘the’ hottest commodity in the head coaching market and enters the 2025 season with expectations of an unfulfilled 37-year-old dream. The Irish head coach has everything right, from Jeremiyah Love to Jaden Greathouse and a QB who has immense talent in CJ Carr. So, will this be the season when Freeman finally cements his name forever in Irish lore?
The post Marcus Freeman Admits to Michael Strahan How His Strict Upbringing Still Shapes Him as a Father & Coach appeared first on EssentiallySports.
