I truly do think it’s healthy for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] to part ways. On one hand, it frees Rees to explore life out of the Notre Dame microscope. On the other, it allows Freeman to break further away from the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] era and further mold the program through his vision.
In this newfound Freeman freedom though, exists a ton of pressure. New pressure. When Freeman was initially hired as head coach, the staff was still primarily made up of coaches that had been in the program under Kelly. There was comfort in that through the transitional phase of the Freeman era getting underway.
But every day that Freeman drifts further away from the Kelly era, more pressure falls upon him to win and win big. The Kelly roster excuses are going away. The Kelly coaches are going away. The Kelly vibe excuses are going away. It’s getting close to winning time for Freeman, Let’s examine this newfound pressure in some detail.