Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates on the sidelines in the final minute against the Georgia Bulldogs during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman Deserves Credit for Bold Notre Dame Move

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By John Kennedy | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 12:33 PM ET

Once Chad Bowden bolted to USC, Freeman had a decision to make

Marcus Freeman and former Notre Dame football general manager Chad Bowden had a good run together. The Fighting Irish's recruiting classes with this tandem were solid. Not elite by any stretch, not bad by any means, but solid, normally averaging about 12th in the 247sports composite rankings.

After a flirtation with Michigan a year prior, Bowden finally did depart South Bend early in 2025 for the sunny shores of Los Angeles to join rival USC. This move left Marcus Freeman with a big decision. Does he find a "Chad style" replacement, or rethink Notre Dame's player acquisition model altogether?

After a few weeks of testing the open market, Freeman made a bold decision to adopt a more NFL-style approach to Irish roster building, and it seems to be working.

The Lions are losing another personnel member, this time their Director of Scouting Advancement Mike Martin to Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/YrWrIefo50
— The Majors Detroit (@TMSNXDetroit) February 14, 2025

Mike Martin and Carter Auman are names Notre Dame fans should get to know

The decision to hire Mike Martin from the Detroit Lions was a bold and risky choice. Martin's experience is in the pro game, not the college game. There was no guarantee that this transition would go smoothly. Notre Dame's operations are now much more analytical, precise, and data-driven. Adding Carter Auman as Recruiting Director was also a bold move, given that he's still in his early 20s.

Despite it taking a while for this new operation to get rolling, the early results are fantastic. Notre Dame has one of the best recruiting classes in the country and is nowhere near done adding talent. Barring a catastrophe, this will easily be Freeman's highest-rated class.

These moves by Freeman were futuristic. This style of roster build will become the norm, but for now, the Irish are a bit ahead of the curve. The easy move for Freeman would have been to try to keep the status quo, but that isn't Marcus's style. He "chose hard", just like he asks recruits to do, and deserves credit for being so bold.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: