Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman has been named the winner of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award, which honors contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life – both on and off the field.
One previous Notre Dame coach has won the Bear Bryant Award: Lou Holtz in 1988.
Freeman was also the winner of the 2024 Dodd Trophy and the 2024 George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, and was selected as the honorary head coach for the 2024 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team. In his third season at Notre Dame, he led the Irish to a National Championship appearance and a 14-2 record, with a final Associated Press ranking of No. 2.
The third-year head coach has an all-time record of 33-10, with a postseason record of 5-2, including three CFP wins in 2024. Freeman led Notre Dame to seven victories over opponents ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the game this season: No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 15 Louisville, No. 24 Navy, No. 18 Army, No. 9 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Penn State. The CFP victory over Penn State was the 14th ranked win of the Freeman era at Notre Dame, more than any other Irish head coach in the first three years of his tenure, and tied for the most of any FBS program over the last three years (Georgia, 14).
Notre Dame owned the most wins against AP ranked teams in 2024, with a 7-1 record. No other team faced more AP-ranked teams in 2024 than Notre Dame’s eight.
Among teams ranked in the final AP Top 25, Notre Dame notched four wins, the most for Notre Dame since 2002 (four). Notre Dame’s three wins over teams ranked in the final Top 10 is the most for the program since 1990 (three).
With the conclusion of the 2024 season, Notre Dame was first in pass efficiency defense (104.4), first in turnovers gained (33), first in defensive touchdowns (6), first in blocked kicks (6), second in fumbles recovered (14), second in blocked punts (3), fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19), fifth in turnover margin (1.13), seventh in kickoff return defense (15.61), ninth in first downs (326), 10th in scoring offense (36.1) and 11th in total defense (307.4).