FOX Sports' Michael Cohen explains how Marcus Freeman constructed Notre Dame's roster and how the Fighting Irish are winning at such an elite level without a handful of five-star prospects.

One of the greatest linebackers to ever play football is incredibly impressed with Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

There’s a history of Cincinnati influence in South Bend, including Kelly, who spent three seasons with the Bearcats before taking the Notre Dame job. A year before Kelly poached Freeman, he hired Bearcats defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, a Cincinnati alum who was a teammate of Freeman’s at Wayne High School outside of Dayton.

Freeman — a surprise hire in December 2021 since he had never been a head coach when Notre Dame promoted the then-defensive coordinator after Kelly bolted for LSU — hasn’t had the same problems.

Say Marcus Freeman does take an NFL job. Who are the first calls you make to find his replacement at Notre Dame?

The program he left, Notre Dame, is preparing for the College Football Playoff national championship against Ohio State on Jan. 20 in Atlanta, under the guidance of Marcus Freeman. The program Kelly joined after leaving Notre Dame in November 2021, LSU, missed this year's College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season under his watch.

Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman will forever be compared. Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU in 2021. Kelly's move spoke to the ceiling he saw at Notre Dame. He could reach 10 wins there, but he prefe

LSU coach Brian Kelly says he's rooting for former school Notre Dame in the CFP final. But would a championship win for the Irish mean more pressure for him?

Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly defends his decision to leave for LSU, but Marcus Freeman’s recent success tells a different story.