Rittenberg wrote the following about Freeman for ESPN this week. Check the link at the bottom of this page to see how he graded all the other new coaching hires.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame, D-plus
The genuine excitement around Freeman’s hiring after Brian Kelly’s departure masked the fact that he wasn’t fully ready for a job of this magnitude. Freeman had only been at Notre Dame for a year. After Freeman’s team lost the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma State and opened this season with losses to Ohio State and Marshall, I thought back to what Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told me in December: “There’s got to be a learning curve. I have no reason to suspect it’s a bigger learning curve or smaller one in Marcus’ case but there has to be one.” It showed in various forms during Freeman’s 0-3 start (including the bowl loss) then again Saturday night, as Notre Dame was stunned at home by a Stanford team that had lost 11 consecutive games to Power Five opponents. Marshall and Stanford are 0-7 against FBS not named Notre Dame this season. Before Stanford, Notre Dame seemed to be settling in with quarterback Drew Pyne. But the offense, which started very slowly, once again took a step backward. Freeman is growing into the role, but he will be tested in the second half with games against Clemson and USC.
NEXT: How does Freeman raise his grade?