Popular CFB analyst draws likings between Marcus Freeman and NFL head coach following Penn State win

Marcus Freeman led Notre Dame to a heroic win against Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday. The Fighting Irish defeated the Nittany Lions 27-24 at the Hard Rock Stadium, thanks to a final-second field goal, to advance to the national championship game.

Colin Cowherd took time to praise the effort of Freeman at Notre Dame in the past few years on the Friday edition of “The Herd.” With his ability to get things done against the odds despite his young age, Cowherd likened him to Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.

“This is Marcus Freeman’s first job,” Cowherd said. "Your first head coaching job is at Notre Dame? You know how many guys have failed at Notre Dame that have previous winning experience?"

“And I don't think he probably was quite ready in the first few weeks, but I'm watching a rock star here. I see Sean McVay. That's exactly what I see, chest out, big energy, talking to the refs, [and] motivating players. Notre Dame had every reason to lose last night.”

Colin Cowherd applauds Marcus Freeman's resilience

When Marcus Freeman was hired as the replacement for Brian Kelly by Notre Dame in 2021, there were a lot of doubts in several quarters. He'd only served as the program's defensive coordinator for one season and had never held a head coaching role anywhere in the landscape.

The Fighting Irish’s gamble has eventually paid off despite the coach's rough start in South Bend. Colin Cowherd commends the resilience of Freeman in getting things right at Notre Dame despite how enormous the challenge looked at the beginning.

“First of all, Notre Dame is doing it the right way. When he took over for Brian Kelly, I was like, he's a great recruiter, but he's 35, he's a defensive coach, I'm not sure if this is going to work,” Cowherd said.

“He went 9-4, 10-3, 14-1 and now he is 5-1 in bowl games. But what's more redeeming about it, in my opinion; he went 0-3 to start, and he lost his first game at home at Notre Dame to Marshall. Think about that. And this year, he lost to Northern Illinois.”

The challenge right now for Marcus Freeman is to seal Notre Dame’s 12th national championship title later this month. The Irish will be out against either Texas or Ohio State in the title game on Jan. 20 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.