Should the Florida Gators consider Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman when the head coaching job comes open?
The Florida Gators are in a tough spot as a football program right now. Sitting with a 1-2 overall record, including embarrassing losses to Miami and Texas A&M, it feels like only a matter of time until head coach Billy Napier is out of his job. That already has people speculating who could be leading […]
The Florida Gators are in a tough spot as a football program right now. Sitting with a 1-2 overall record, including embarrassing losses to Miami and Texas A&M, it feels like only a matter of time until head coach Billy Napier is out of his job. That already has people speculating who could be leading the Gators into the future.
That includes Carl Reed Jr., who is a College Football analyst at 247Sports, and is very well respected in the space. He made an interesting suggestion for the position if it becomes open. His recommendation is current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.
Here is what Reed had to say on X:
Just hear me out:
If Florida decides to move on from their coach, they should go get Marcus Freeman.
If you put Freeman in that talent hotbed with his culture, recruiting process, and attention to detail, while also giving him the resources to hire the right OC and GM, the Gators will be chomping again.
It is an interesting thought, but obviously there are some flaws to the potential fit. Would Coach Freeman and his recruiting prowess accomplish some impressive things in the Southeast? Absolutely, there is little question about that. Recruiting would be significantly easier with the NIL backing and proximity to a talented hotbed.
Outside of the recruiting side, the sell for Florida doesn’t make a ton of sense. They made a risky hire with Coach Napier a couple of years ago, and typically programs choose differently on the next hire. I would expect the Gators to target more proven commodities when the job comes open.
From Coach Freeman’s perspective, I’m also not sure it makes much sense. He is steadily building the Notre Dame program, and has done a lot of good things both internally and externally. Florida has shown that they also aren’t overly patient, and I’m not sure taking that job right now is wise.
