Marcus Freeman’s haircut first went viral at his introductory press conference in South Bend over three years ago.
On January 20, 2025, Marcus Freeman, 39, and his team, Notre Dame, lost the match against Ohio State with a score of 34-23.
Highlights
- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost the match with the Ohio State Buckeyes on January 20, 2025.
- Freeman’s faded hairstyle caught the attention when he was appointed as the new head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
- The Penn State Nittany Lions football coach, James Franklin, joked about Freeman’s faded hairstyle.
With 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes led 31-15, and the Fighting Irish faced a 4th-and-goal from the Ohio State nine-yard line.
Most viewers expected Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman to go for it, as a field goal would still leave the Irish facing a three-score deficit.
But Freeman chose to kick, which even ESPN’s Kirk Haerbstreit found surprising.
Ultimately, kicker Mitch Jeter’s attempt bounced off the left upright, and Notre Dame was left with no points scored on that drive.
Former ESPN college football analyst David Pollack took to social media shortly after to share his thoughts on the questionable decision. Pollack wrote,
“What on Gods green Earth are we doing?” “Freeman been aggressive all year! FG down 16 with 9 mins against this O? Have to go for it. Well we had a little fun.”
David Pollack
Freeman’s decision is one that Fighting Irish fans will remember for a long time.
James Franklin Commented On Marcus Freeman’s Faded Hairline
Recently, on January 20, 2025, Marcus Freeman arrived at the College Football National Championship with a fresh faded haircut.
His hair is trimmed from the sides and back so that the hair gradually changes in length from the longest around the top to the shortest at the hairline.
However, on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, during a press conference ahead of Notre Dame’s 227-24 victory over Penn State on Thursday, January 9, Franklin talked about Marcus’s hair and age. He said,
“I mean, I look at the hairline on this guy. Envious of his hairline in a lot of ways.”
James Franklin
Freeman appeared to take the jokes in stride at the press conference, but after his team’s victory on Thursday night, Freeman’s players revealed it was quite a different story.
During the interview with The Athletic, Notre Dame’s safety Xavier Watts said,
“He was angry with the press conference thing, whatever was going on between that. He was mad about that. All the anger went toward us and that anger went onto the field.”
Xavier Watts
Nore Dame running back Jeremiah Love indicated he was similarly ticked off by Franklin’s comments, telling The Athletic, “I’m not gonna speak on their head coach.” He added,
“We felt like their team didn’t really respect us,” “We wanted to come into this game and make a statement. Be the aggressors. Dominate them physically. That’s the message. Be physical and play violent. The whole game.”
Jeremiyah Love
Freeman did not address Franklin’s comments, but he got angry and acknowledged the significance of Notre Dame’s win, meaning he would become the first Black coach in history to coach in a college national championship game.
During the post-game interview with ESPN’s Molly Mcgrath, Freeman said,
“I’ve said this before, I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” “It is an honor, and I hope all coaches — minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn’t matter, great people — continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this. But this ain’t about me. This is about us. We’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s so special.”
Marcus Freeman
Marcus Freeman’s Haircut Became Viral After Notre Dame Football Team Hired Him As The New Head Coach
Freeman’s haircut went viral when he was officially introduced as the new head coach of Notre Dame football on December 3, 2021.
Despite the historic hire and fanfare around the vent, his faded hairstyle stole the show.
He showed up at the event, keeping his fade on point and blending perfectly without a single flaw.
According to the source, Julio Rodriguez, the licensed barber who provides haircuts for the entire Notre Dame football team, is the man behind Freeman’s haircut.
Julio used to operate Julio’s Cut out of his parent’s basement on the southwest side of South Bend.
Now, he owns “Exclusive Studio” in Mishawaka. He has a full-blown operation and plenty of game-worn merchandise from former Fighting Irish players to prove his resume.
Rodriguez and his barbershop is located 17 minutes from Notre Dame Stadium.
Additional Information
- Marcus Freeman has an estimated net worth of over $24 million as of 2025.
- Freeman was married to Joanna Freeman in 2010. They share six children.
- His mother, Chong Freeman, is from South Korea and met his father, Michael Freeman, an African American, while serving in the U.S. Air Force and then moved to Ohio in 1976.
