Marcus Freeman explains why work-life blend, not balance is key for coaches

Few places in college football carry the expectations that being the head coach at Notre Dame has.

Marcus Freeman earned the opportunity to lead Notre Dame after Brian Kelly left for LSU just before the team's appearance in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl.

His first three games leading the Irish, dating back to that Fiesta Bowl, didn't go as anyone had hoped, as they lost games to Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Marshall before rebounding impressively to salvage a 9-4 year in his initial season leading the storied South Bend program.

Freeman could probably write a bestselling book on the lessons learned in that first year leading the Irish, but one of the more intriguing things he picked up was related to juggling the demands of work and family.

Most people refer tend to refer to that as work-life balance, but Freeman shared with The Pivot that he has always viewed that dynamic a bit differently.

"You will never be at a championship level at home, the demands of a college football coach are extremely high to have success, the hours that it takes to put in...there are a lot of hours."

"I have always said this...it's not a balance [at home]. It's a blend. We have a work-life blend."

Freeman goes on to share how he lives a ten minute drive from campus, so when his wife is able to bring his kids to the facility for practice, or out to the field for practice, or a lunch or dinner, she tries to do that.

"That's for two reasons. One, so I can see them. In season, when I leave, they're sleeping, and when I come home they're sleeping. You can see your wife, but you're not seeing your kids during the week."

"The second part is, I don't care if you have both players at home or not, you still need the example modeled in front of you. You can have the example for 18 years, and from 18-22 if you've got a bad example that can affect you. So I want our players to see me, and our other coaches as a husband, as a father, and not by what we say, but I want them to show it to you because that is what is going to stick with them longer."

Hear more from Freeman in the clip.