The 2024 squad of the Fighting Irish was straight out of a fairytale. The year marked a return to glory days for Notre Dame and seated Marcus Freeman among the trailblazing coaches of college football. Naturally, they deserve every bit of praise that comes their way for their gallant fight until the end. Now, a veteran college football coach has sent a warm message to Freeman and the dream team after winning a coveted award.
With a near-perfect record in hand, there’s no denying that Marcus Freeman is a coaching genius. He failed to make a mark in 2022 and 2023. But Freeman persisted. When asked to change either the fate of his playing career or the Natty loss, he picked the second option. That’s how dedicated Freeman is to the Fighting Irish. On the heels of the triumph, one of his former colleagues tipped a hat towards him after winning a prestigious college football award.
Al Golden won the 2024 Broyles Award for designing the 2024 defense at South Bend. That squad led the FBS in takeaways and finished in a tied fourth position in scoring defense, averaging 15.5 points per game. Golden, who will now orchestrate defenses for the Bengals, made sure to honor Marcus Freeman. “I would be remiss if I didn’t take a second just to dedicate this to Coach Freeman, the ’24 Fighting Irish, because those guys were unbelievable,” he said, while addressing the award at a locker room presentation at Cincinnati. Golden wins this award after spending 32 years as a football coach.
Al Golden dedicates his acceptance of the 2024 Broyles Award to Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and everyone involved with the Fighting Irish.
“Other than being called ‘dad,’ being called ‘coach’ is the great thing in the world, right?”
Football guy.pic.twitter.com/Rk9Qr12m7a
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) August 12, 2025
When he accepted the award, Golden called his Notre Dame stint the “best 1000 days” of his career. “Thank you to coach Freeman for … not just believing in me but to create and foster an environment that allowed me to be the best that I could be,” he said on the podium on that memorable night. Marcus Freeman sure is a genius on the sidelines, having orchestrated something so wonderful at such a young age. That, too, at an elite program like Notre Dame.
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