Marcus Freeman

[red_n_black_attack]

Freeman has proved all he can at the coordinator level and will benefit from sticking with Fickell until he gets a MAC head coaching job (in which he will dazzle). Marcus knows the Midwest and will get a head coaching job. It should've been after this special season, but I think the economics of COVID won't allow some schools to pull the trigger so it will likely be in 2022. It's not that LSU isn't a step up, it's more that his next step should be head coach. Marcus has the tools, personality, and drive to win and lead a program. I can only hope he stays in Clifton or comes back at some point, but he has big things ahead of him.

[Lobot]

247 has selected Freeman as their coordinator of the year.

[Binturong05]

Orgeron is mad man. He'll never go there. If Orgeron has another bad year he'll likely be on the hot seat if he isn't already. The coach Joe Burrow made and Lsu gave a fat extension to. Stay tuned!

Orgeron's struggles are to be expected after losing a record fourteen players to the NFL draft including five first rounders, tops among them a Heisman winning QB. But I understand your point. The future at LSU is shaky if Coach O can't turn it around and quickly become competitive again. However, there's a lot of talent in the SEC and one could understand the appeal of testing one's mettle among top quality competition week in and week out. It's one of the few spots I think he could conceivably land outside of a head coaching role. All that aside, there's a part of me that thinks he and Fick realize they have something here at UC and there may be value in going against the grain and cutting your own path. At this rate, with the recruiting classes they are bringing in, they are in the drivers seat to dominate the conference. As we saw this year expectations to crash the CFP are low, so it's pretty much all upside. If they win, that's freakin' great, but if they lose to Georgia this year or Florida next year or Oregon the year after that, no one is going to run them out of town. There's got to be some value in that kind of security.

[coach]

Orgeron is mad man. He'll never go there. If Orgeron has another bad year he'll likely be on the hot seat if he isn't already. The coach Joe Burrow made and Lsu gave a fat extension to. Stay tuned!

[Binturong05]

A local paper in Louisiana is reporting that Derek Mason, formerly of Vanderbilt, is a candidate for the DC job at LSU. While interviewing Mason stated that Ed Orgeron's first target for the DC job is Marcus Freeman.

From the outside looking in LSU does seem like a rather sweet opportunity, you have to wonder if he isn't holding out for a shot at being the head coach somewhere. Recall Freeman reportedly did not bite on MSU's attempt to lure him away as the Spartans DC.

College Sports: Cincinatti DC Marcus Freeman rejects “significant attempt” by Michigan State to hire him | DSN (detroitsportsnation.com)

[Lobot]

A local paper in Louisiana is reporting that Derek Mason, formerly of Vanderbilt, is a candidate for the DC job at LSU. While interviewing Mason stated that Ed Orgeron's first target for the DC job is Marcus Freeman.

[Lobot]

Freeman's name has popped up in the media as a potential hire for DC at ND.

[Lobot]

One of 15 Finalists for the Broyles Award for top assistant coach.

[coach]

Yea, i can see him getting P5 offers, but they will be from struggling programs who have to roll the dice on a head coach. Either way, i think he's a pretty smart guy and will think deliberately like Fickell did in his career. You have to first be comfortable stepping into the head coach role(which Fickell has indicated was a transition from his role as a coordinator), and then you have to be comfortable the school can compete in a conference. The audition at an AAC school as a head coach has been lucrative for quite a few guys, and in fact Uc has become relatively lucrative given it's non P5 situation. The biggest competition could be an AAC school.

[Lobot]

I'm thinking Freeman's next move will probably be a MAC HC job after the 21-22 season. This is just a hunch on my part. This keeps him fairly local in his home area.

While I definitely don't want him to leave UC, It's inevitable at some point unless he gets the HC job if Fickell departs. I think the real danger is him taking other assistants with him particularly on offense where Marcus would need someone who knows the landscape better than himself. It would be very similar to Fickell going with Denbrock. On that basis, Gino's not going to be an RB/QB/Passing game coordinator forever. He's trying to climb the ladder as well. I wouldn't be suprised if they ended being a tandem at some point either here or elsewhere.

[coach]

That could always happen, but he may also look to Luke Fickell's career path for inspiration and guidance and stay put for a while longer. Fickell was an assistant for what 15 plus seasons before he struck out as a head coach. My guess is he was approached by Mac and other schools as well, but stayed put and learned the game. Freeman is clearly head coaching material, but relatively new as a coordinator with 4 years here. I think it was the 2016 season the late TT's team torched his defense in his last year up at Purdue which isn't that long ago and i believe he was co defensive coordinator that year at Purdue. I could easily see him getting offers as a P5 head coach in the next several years, or taking over for Fickell if he were to move on. With the pay these head coaches get nowadays it pays to be patient if you are having success. One wrong move and you fall of the pretty tree and the next hot guy comes along. Fickell is a pretty astute organizer from what i've seen the past several years. He knew when he took the job he needed a veteran on offense and he snagged Denbrock which helped him given his lack of experience offensively. He took a relative greenhorn in Freeman and made him a sole coordinator as he knew he could be hands on with the defense as well. It's paid dividends. If there is one thing in any of these sports it's best to enjoy each season for what it's worth. Change is inevitable, but not always immediate. These guys appear to me to understand that patience pays dividends down the road which isn't always the case.

[MI Bearcat]

I wasn't thinking he would get a head coaching position but I could see a large national power school coming in and offering 1.5 million for him to be their defensive coordinator.

[coach]

Enjoy the season. It's a good problem to have when you have success.

[red_n_black_attack]

We may get lucky and keep Luke for the 2021 season simply because COVID will have financially crippled nearly every athletic dept budget. I don't see a P5 team looking at Freeman the way they look at Bama or OSU coordinators, at least not at 34. Freeman could take a HC job at a G5 school, but his best bet is to take over the reins when Luke leaves. I don't see Luke in Clifton when realignment comes, hoping I am wrong. Marcus may even jump to a G5 school, then jump back to UC, though once he is gone, unlikely he comes back. It will be tough to keep Luke and Marcus together much longer.

[Chewbacca2099]

I agree that Freeman will be a hot target. I'm hoping they want to stay and keep building us up as a P5 target. Either that or Fickell is waiting for OSU to open back up. It'd be nice if a coach wanted to stay for once... haven't had that since Minter. Hopefully Fickell and Freeman have higher character and like to build and own something.