Notre Dame’s Freeman eyeing larger role with struggling defense

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman might take on an increased role with the team’s struggling defense, as the Fighting Irish searches for its first win this week.

Freeman, a former Ohio State linebacker who served as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator in 2021 before being promoted to head coach, said leaders must “wear the hat that’s necessary.” Notre Dame, which reached the national championship game last season, has allowed a combined 68 points and 827 yards in losses to No. 4 Miami and No. 10 Texas A&M to open the season.

After Saturday’s 41-40 home loss to the Aggies, Freeman said he was not considering a play-caller switch as first-year coordinator Chris Ash will continue. Freeman served as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator before coming to Notre Dame.

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“I spend a lot of time with our defense, that’s obviously where my background is, and I’ll continuously do it,” said Freeman. “Will I spend more time? Maybe. If that’s what’s necessary, I will, I’ll spend more time there. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure that we improve and we have a performance that we believe is the standard for Notre Dame football.”

Notre Dame tied for fourth nationally in fewest points allowed (15.5 ppg) last season and ranked 11th in yards allowed under coordinator Al Golden, who won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. Golden left to become Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator and Freeman replaced him with Ash, the former Rutgers head coach and defensive coordinator at Texas, Ohio State and other spots.

Freeman emphasized reducing explosive plays on defense and eliminating the habits that might be leading to them. Texas A&M averaged 21.2 yards per completion in Saturday’s win.

“We’ve had to figure out why those explosive plays occurred,” said Freeman. “I could get up here and say it’s execution, and it is. But what does a lack of execution come down to? … It falls on us as coaches to make sure our guys can execute.”

The 24th-ranked Irish host Purdue on Saturday.