The 2024 squad of the Fighting Irish was straight out of a fairytale. The year marked a return to glory days for Notre Dame and seated Marcus Freeman among the trailblazing coaches of college football. Naturally, they deserve every bit of praise that comes their way for their gallant fight until the end. Now, a veteran college football coach has sent a warm message to Freeman and the dream team after winning a coveted award.

With a near-perfect record in hand, there’s no denying that Marcus Freeman is a coaching genius. He failed to make a mark in 2022 and 2023. But Freeman persisted. When asked to change either the fate of his playing career or the Natty loss, he picked the second option. That’s how dedicated Freeman is to the Fighting Irish. On the heels of the triumph, one of his former colleagues tipped a hat towards him after winning a prestigious college football award.

Al Golden won the 2024 Broyles Award for designing the 2024 defense at South Bend. That squad led the FBS in takeaways and finished in a tied fourth position in scoring defense, averaging 15.5 points per game. Golden, who will now orchestrate defenses for the Bengals, made sure to honor Marcus Freeman. “I would be remiss if I didn’t take a second just to dedicate this to Coach Freeman, the ’24 Fighting Irish, because those guys were unbelievable,” he said, while addressing the award at a locker room presentation at Cincinnati. Golden wins this award after spending 32 years as a football coach.

When he accepted the award, Golden called his Notre Dame stint the “greatest 1000 days” of his career. “Thank you to coach Freeman for … not just believing in me but to create and foster an environment that allowed me to be the best that I could be,” he said on the podium on that memorable night. Marcus Freeman sure is a genius on the sidelines, having orchestrated something so wonderful at such a young age. That, too, at an elite program like Notre Dame.

Freeman gave Golden a chance to clear his name in college football after his unceremonious exit from Miami. And in return, the DC gave him and the Fighting Irish a shot at the National Championship last season.

How Marcus Freeman helped Al Golden after a distasteful college football exit

Al Golden is now a Broyles Award winner. But 10 years ago, there were calls for Golden to be fired. Then the HC of Miami, Golden registered Miami’s 58-0 loss against Clemson, one of the program’s worst in history. He then went to the NFL, taking a step downwards to don the DC hat for Detroit, followed by Cincinnati. When the Bengals made a run towards the Super Bowl in 2021, Freeman was promoted to the Irish’s HC. He had been looking at Golden for some time to replace him as DC, and the rest is history. “[When] Notre Dame calls, you have to listen,” the DC told ESPN.

Last year, before the playoffs began, Notre Dame was first in passing efficiency defense, defensive TDs, and 9 in total defense. And, the ’24 squad kept 11 of their opponents restricted to 16 or fewer points. Al Golden also helped coach stars in that Notre Dame squad. Benjamin Morrison, a 2025 Round 2 pick, was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award in 2023. Then there’s Xavier Watts, who broke WR  Christian Grey’s 99-yard INT return with a 100-yarder in the same game.

Al Golden gave up his memorable formal attire for the usual athletic fashion in his return to college football. But this was a rejuvenated Al Golden, who left college football as one of the best defensive minds, instead of remaining a troubled head coach. Marcus Freeman will hope that the momentum set by him is continued by new DC Chris Ash. On the other hand, Golden will always look back at his Notre Dame stint as one of his best.