CFP National Championship: Why everyone at Notre Dame bought into Marcus Freeman

Marcus Freeman was Notre Dame's defensive coordinator at the time of Brian Kelly's departure.

The decision had the potential to start a new era for the Notre Dame program in 2021 .

"He was the one guy we all gravitated toward," said Rocco Spindler , then a freshman.

Freeman has built on that foundation, showing himself not only to be the right person for the job, but also channeling his approach.

Notre Dame players say it's easy to play for Freeman because of who he is and what he does, not just on the field, but off of it.

"He has a relationship with every single person on his team of how that person needs to be interacted with and motivated," said kicker Mitch Jeter .

Linebacker Jack Kiser has been at the program since 2019 and was coached by Freeman as a defensive coordinator.

Coach Marcus Freeman is the first Black and Asian coach to be in the title game.

He has struck a deft touch between utilizing Notre Dame's tradition and history to bring the Irish together.

Freeman is one of the five youngest coaches in FBS .