Marcus Freeman made history Monday night becoming the first African American and Asian American to be a head coach in a National Championship college football game.
However, for the third time, Freeman failed to win the championship. Ironically, the first two times were as a player for the Ohio Buckeyes, the team he coached against Monday night.
His Notre Dame Fighting Irish Monday fell behind by 31-7 despite scoring a touchdown on its opening drive.
Notre Damne made a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter to come within 31-23 but would ultimately lose 34-23.
Despite the disappointment, he remained confident for the future.
“The outlook of Notre Dame football is extremely high,” Freeman said to Clutchpoints. “As long as the people in that locker room that come back understand what it takes, the work these guys have put in, there’s a lot of success in our future.”
Freeman’s mother is Korean American and father is African American. He posted a family photo on Mother’s Day in 2022.
The coach’s father, Michael Freelman, spent time in the military stationed at Osan Air Base in South Korea. While there, he met his wife Chong who is from Daegu City, South Korea, according to Marca.
The two tied the knot in 1977 and moved to Texas in 1979 before living in Ohio.
Marcus Freeman has been married to his college sweetheart Joanna since 2010.
She spent some time as a TV News reporter for WBNS in Columbus, OH but has since dedicated her time to raising her family.
The two met while she attended Otterbein University while he played football at Ohio State.
As a high school football player, the coach chose to play for Ohio State over Notre Dame which had also recruited him heavily.
USA Today recalls he twice played in the BCS Championship game as an inside linebacker, losing both times.
He admitted he continues to root for his former team when he’s not competing against them.
I’m a huge Ohio State fan,” Freeman said to ESPN’s Chris Fowler on Sunday. “That’s your Alma Mater and the job he’s done leading that program has been tremendous. And so, I got a lot of respect for him.”
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