“Hi, Jack!” Marcus Freeman is waving at a towheaded toddler walking behind his mother outside the Notre Dame football facility on a recent afternoon. Jack, the son of defensive backs coach Chris O’Leary, waves back at his dad’s boss.
Moments later, inside the building, Freeman walks into his office and finds the seats around his conference table filled by his own sprawling family: six kids and his wife, Joanna, are digging into Chick-fil-A box lunches. The brood is perfectly at home in the facility, and Freeman is perfectly fine with that.
The vibe around Freeman’s program is buoyantly family-oriented and player-friendly. The video of Freeman being engulfed by the Fighting Irish players after being named the head coach in December 2021 was a scene of unabashed affection. Amid the hyperintensity that permeates most high-level college football programs, there are lighter moments here that serve as reminders of the wider world outside blocking and tackling.
