Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua On Marcus Freeman: "He's Our Coach"
For Notre Dame Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua, signing Irish head football coach Marcus Freeman to a contract extension was a top priority.
“It's something I wanted to do and I've been thinking about all year,” said Bevacqua, who took over in his role this past March after a nine-month transition period working with his predecessor Jack Swarbrick.
“He's our coach. I want him and Notre Dame wants him to be our coach for the foreseeable future.”
Bevacqua said he was “thrilled” about the four-year extension, announced on Sunday, which keeps Freeman under contract for the next six years.
“Obviously, we all think the world of him, the job he has done here at Notre Dame on the field and off the field,” Bevacqua said. “You think about the improvement year in and year out now in his third year. If you were in my position, just to see the way he interacts with our student-athletes, it's just amazing the bond that he has created with them, the way they can relate to him, the way he relates to them, and then what he does off the field at Notre Dame.”
Bevacqua also noted there are no special carveouts that would make it easier for Freeman to leave South Bend for the NFL or any other college job.
Bevacqua believes the two most visible representatives of Notre Dame are the school’s President, our president, Father Bob Dowd, and its head football coach.
“When you think about Coach Freeman, there's no better representative of Notre Dame,” said Bevacqua. “He's so authentic, so sincere. Everything that makes Notre Dame different and special - and some would say maybe harder - he embraces and uses that as an advantage and as a differentiator.”
Bevacqua said Freeman’s first concern during negotiations was for others.
“Every conversation I had with him about the future and his future here, it was never about him,” said Bevacqua. “It was always about the program. It was always about his assistant coaches, making sure that we would have the resources to keep and to attract the very best assistant coaches in the country.
“You think about the team that he has assembled, it's just a wonderful team and the culture that he has created with the student-athletes, with the coaching staff, it's special. I think we have a ton of momentum.”
The Irish football team’s performance this season, winning 10 straight games to earn a home game in the College Football Playoff was an example of why Bevacqua wants Freeman to continue leading the program and not the reason why an extension was warranted.
“This isn't about any game or any stretch of games,” Bevacqua said on Tuesday afternoon. “He is the right person to be our head coach for on-the-field and off-the-field reasons.
“I just felt like it made sense. The regular season has ended. Let's get this done before the playoff game. Let's put it to rest. I want it to happen. Notre Dame wants it to happen. Coach Freeman couldn't be more excited about staying at Notre Dame. This looked like the perfect time, and to do it without it all being a distraction to him. He is 100 percent focused on Friday night and just wanted to get it done, wanted to get it done quickly, wanted to get it done in a way that made him happy and made him happy about his staff.
“Again, I can't stress enough about how many of the conversations with him were about his staff, and obviously in a way that works for Notre Dame. And when two groups want to do something, it's usually easy to figure out.”
Bevacqua repeatedly mentioned Freeman’s persistence in making sure his assistants would be taken care of.
“I'll reiterate, the conversations I had with Marcus were never about Marcus,” he said. “It was always about his staff, which tells you a lot about him. The good news is we have been incredibly competitive with his staff. And it wasn't a question of catching up because we're there.”
Freeman wanted assurances from Bevacqua that he would have Bevacqua’s commitment to “respond to changes in the marketplace” regarding assistant coaching salaries.
“I said, 'Yes, 100 percent,’” Bevacqua explained. “I don't think it's any secret that we're keeping our foot on the gas. When you think about Marcus's extension, when you think about the assistant coaches that we have, when you think about the fact that if you go outside, you see the Shields Family Hall emerging from the ground, Notre Dame Football is a priority, and winning national championships is a priority.
“And I would tell you, I said this to Marcus, and we were laughing, we're both kind of maniacally obsessed with winning a national championship and more in football “
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Half-Zip Hoodie
