Change brings with it opportunity to improve

Things have felt a bit chaotic around the Irish program in the last couple of months.

From the end of the regular season, to the thrilling and stress-inducing playoff push, to large-scale changes taking place within the program starting the day after the Ohio State game, there’s been a lot to process and wrap one’s mind around.

While fans have now had some time to unwind and recharge, Marcus Freeman has had no such benefit. From the moment 2024 ended, he has had to focus 100% on 2025 and quickly make some big decisions.

One of the biggest shifts within the Irish program has been regarding the recruiting operation. With GM Chad Bowden, Director of Recruiting Caleb Davis, and multiple support staff leaving South Bend, the Irish recruiting operation is getting a forced reboot.

All of the changes could be terrific for the program moving forward.

Marcus Freeman is in a better position now to maximize Irish recruiting

Marcus Freeman is entering his fourth year at the helm of the Irish program. He’s no longer a new head coach. He no longer has to get up to speed.

Always an elite recruiter, now he has the results to go along with having a better idea of what works and what doesn’t in terms of the Irish recruiting operation overall. This makes the timing of personnel changes in the talent acquisition department ideal.

For all of the positives that came with a Bowden and Davis-led recruiting operation, and there were many, Notre Dame has not come near to reaching its recruiting ceiling under Freeman.

With a better understanding of areas of strength and weakness, Freeman now has a chance with new GM Mike Martin to reboot the way the Irish think about and approach recruiting.

The Irish gained a lot of national respect from their 2024 playoff run, it’s now time to leverage that in recruiting and turn this operation into more of an NFL-style model for acquiring talent, and I hope to see Martin and company adopt this more professional approach.

Change can be scary, but it also creates opportunity. The Irish program is on stable footing, and with a few tweaks to the recruiting operation, the sky is the limit for Notre Dame in the modern era.

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