He was a member of the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans, but never appeared in a regular-season NFL game.

Marcus Freeman was born at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio.

[4][5] He has an older brother, Michael Jr.[6] Freeman attended Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio.

[7] During the 2006 season, Freeman made 71 tackles while playing in 13 games, 11 of which he started, and was second on the team with six pass break-ups and two interceptions.

[14] Freeman helped transform the linebackers group into a strength for the Boilermakers, coaching future NFL players Danny Ezechukwu and Ja'Whaun Bentley.

On December 13, 2016, Freeman joined the Cincinnati Bearcats football staff as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

[15] After being one of the first hires by Luke Fickell, Freeman transformed the Bearcats into one of the best defenses of the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

[16] Prior to the end of the 2020 season, Freeman had declined a handful of positions to remain at Cincinnati including offers of returning to Ohio State as linebackers coach,[17] linebackers coach for the Tennessee Titans,[18] and defensive coordinator at Michigan State,[19] among other offers.

[21][22] On January 8, 2021, Freeman was hired as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

2 Ohio State and Marshall, thus becoming first head coach in Notre Dame history to start his career with three losses.

During the offseason, they secured the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal, Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman, and they entered the season ranked 13th.

Following a bye week, Freeman’s Irish defeated Pittsburgh and fell to unranked Clemson before winning against Wake Forest and Stanford to finish the regular season 9–3.

The 2023 campaign was defined by strong performances from star running back Audric Estime, quarterback Sam Hartman, tight end Mitchell Evans, and safety Xavier Watts, but it was also marred by poor play at the wide receiver position, especially following early injuries to veteran receivers Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie.

Evans’ injury against Pittsburgh left the Irish without any reliable pass catchers, and the team struggled when unable to run the ball at will.

Originally Notre Dame was set to play the 2nd-seeded Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2025, but due to the 2025 New Orleans truck attack that happened near the Caesars Superdome the game was rescheduled to the following day.

Notre Dame would then proceed to beat the 6th-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl, advancing to the national title game for the first time in 12 years.

[29] They lost the championship game to the Ohio State Buckeyes 34–23, the winner of the Cotton Bowl Classic.