WEBVTT - MARCUS FREEMAN: Meeting the Moment 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:12.000 Welcome to season five of Fowler. Who You Got? I 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:15.000 hope your summer was fun and fulfilling. Mine certainly was. 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:19.400 But what's got me excited now? Football season is here, 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:22.560 and who I've got for the season's first episode is 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.439 the first football coach guest we have ever had, the 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:29.800 first year coach of the Fighting Irish, Marcus Freeman. Now 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.680 to call him a fast rising star in the profession 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.840 is understating it. At age thirty six, after just one 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.680 season at Notre Dame, Marcus was promoted from defensive coordinator 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.440 to head coach of the world's most famous college football 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.360 program when Brian Kelly suddenly left for l s U 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.160 right before the bowl game. We'll talk about what will 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.840 define success for his team and for him, what being 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:56.240 a new age players coach means to him, about growing 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:59.680 up in a household of hard work, discipline, sacrifice, love 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:04.640 and respect, and how he's balancing massive new responsibilities well 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:08.760 he and his wife, Joanna are raising six kids. At 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.039 the end of our conversation, another first, Marcus turned the 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:16.840 tables and interviewed me. Marcus, I'm so grateful for your 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.160 time and so much to cover, but I want to 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.360 start with meeting the moment, because so many of us 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:25.040 have moments to meet in our lives, and in some 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:27.720 ways they define the course of our lives. If you 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:30.800 have a moment as massive as the chance to prove 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.800 yourself as worthy of being named head coach and Notre Dame, 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:39.960 but what kind of qualities that you have helped you 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:43.119 be able to meet that moment? In your conversations with 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.200 father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame and Jack Swarbrick, 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:48.640 the athletic director, to put you in the position to 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:52.200 have this opportunity, person, I wish I could tell you 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.840 it was one thing. Uh, you know, I don't know 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:57.360 exactly what it was. I kind of go back and 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.520 you reflect and you look at your journey and in 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:03.440 um I tell coaches all the time because everybody's looking 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:05.520 for that magical formula, what is it? What do you 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:07.320 have to do to put yourself in that position? Man? 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.680 And I think there's two things. You gotta work really hard, right, 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.440 You gotta work really hard where you're at, no matter 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.519 what you're doing. But I think you have to make 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.919 good decisions. And you don't know sometimes what exactly are 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:23.560 those good decisions until you can go back and reflect. 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.040 You know, I wanted to be the best g I 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:28.280 could be when I was at Ohio State, and I 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.359 wanted to be the best linebackers coach at Kinst State 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:32.600 and Purdue, and I go to Cincinnati and you work 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.239 really hard and you're focus, and then you always look 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:39.640 at those opportunities that present themselves and you you justify 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:43.600 whatever the reasoning is to yourself. Um, and I hope 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.320 that it's a reflection of hard work. You you try 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.440 to continue to gain knowledge, and you know you can 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:51.760 try to continue to grow, but you make really good decisions. 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.760 Well you're get nowhere, you funk the test if you're 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.399 not prepared. Obviously preparation what you went through you have done, 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.160 and then you have to have the presentation of that 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:04.960 and you have to have the instincts probably to know 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.880 what is the right thing in the moment, because as 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:09.480 a thirty six year old guy who's not been a 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:14.399 head coach before, that's not the model higher for Notre 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:16.840 Dame as a head coach, at least historically has not been. 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:20.400 So you have to convince people to trust you, to 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.200 believe in you, and take a risk, because let's face it, 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:26.079 you were a little bit of a risky higher just 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.320 because the resume doesn't look the same as some other guys. 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:32.960 A lot of it, that's a lot of bit of Yeah. 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:35.800 You know, I hope every day I was here, um, 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:37.800 and maybe even before I was here, I was on 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.720 a job interview, you know, I hope that no matter 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.240 when somebody was observed in Marcus Freeman, that they said, Okay, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:46.880 this is a man at some point and some day 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.440 could could lead this program. And part of that is 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:53.600 loving our players. Part of that is again as I 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.320 said earlier, work entireslely but trying to do the best 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:58.240 job I can. It is the deepest a coordinator of 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:02.000 this place, treating people with respect and and um, hopefully 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.720 those actions speak for themselves in terms of being able to, 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:07.640 you know, not win the interview, but tell a story 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.880 about who Marcus Freeman is wild here. You believe in 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.520 self talk. You say you gain energy from self talk. 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:16.040 I don't know if it's out loud or it's just 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:19.680 inside your head. What were the self talks like before 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:24.280 you go into these these crucial job interviews, these opportunities 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.800 where you can cement it or let's be honest, like 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:30.039 all of us, you could blow it in the in 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:33.039 those moments, what self talks did you have? Well, I 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.120 think it goes for me. It will always run back 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:39.839 to preparation, and so moments before and in days, before, 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:42.799 hours however long it is that you have to prepare, 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.520 You prepare, you prepare for, you prepare. But then when 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:47.760 you go into that job interview to meet, you have 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.559 to be yourself. You have to be the same person 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:53.159 that got you into this chair. But you have a 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:57.080 sense of confidence when you feel prepared. I always tell 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:00.080 everybody try to mention young people. Preparation is confident, So 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.800 it doesn't guarantee success, but it provides you that foundation 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:07.839 to believe in yourself while still being humble. Humility and 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:10.880 confidence balance. I think it's an interesting thing. So finally, Marcus, 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:12.960 you get to share with your team what you've known 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:14.280 for about a day and a half, which is you're 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:17.479 gonna be the next head coach at the most world 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.919 famous football program there is Notre Dame. They're told to 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.400 report for a team run and then there's the big 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.200 reveal and man, that video is just pure goal for 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:30.039 any of this that love and appreciate sports, And you 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.479 get to like bounce into the room and kind of 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:34.600 bounce into their arms. And very few of us will 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:39.000 get to experience that kind of a moment. Take us 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:45.719 through it. Oh. I remember, probably about five minutes before 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.240 I walked in there, I addressed um, the entire football staff, 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:53.120 everybody that is involved with our football program, and you know, 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.400 told him how humble and honor I am to be 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:58.280 the leader. And then I remember we're walking back way, 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.600 the back way through the tunnel, um to go into 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.919 the locker room at Notre Dame Stadium, and uh, you 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.680 know there was there was to say, There wasn't butterflies, 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.760 I would be lying. And you know, as I heard 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.839 Coach Bayliss our strength coach kind of a dressing the group, 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.839 you know, I know my heart was beating and I 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.400 wish I could go back and do it all over again, right. 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:21.320 I just wish you can wake up every day and 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.720 relive that moment. But um, I just knew when that 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:28.360 door open, UM, I wanted to embrace them. You know, 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:30.240 I didn't want to say a speech. I didn't want to, 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:32.720 you know, all of a sudden say hey, here's the 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:34.800 new culture, here's what we're gonna do. I just wanted 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.719 to embrace those guys because those are your players. Those 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:41.320 it's you know, there's this misconception that you don't get 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.760 your guys until you recruit them. No, the minute your 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:46.039 name had coached, those are your guys, and so the 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.400 ability to to embrace them, to be with them. My 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:50.560 family was there in the background. Um, it was a 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:55.160 surreal feeling that I'll never forget. Yeah, that's that is 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:57.400 an unforgettable video which I would encourage people to seek 0:06:57.400 --> 0:07:00.599 out on YouTube if you haven't seen it. Look, most 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:05.360 people who come in as new coaches inherit problems inherent 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.440 rebuilding situations. They don't INHERIT eleven and one teams with 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:12.400 a solid corps of leaders and veterans. And you did 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:17.000 get that amazing opportunity nevertheless in Notre Dame. Yet you 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:19.760 also had a team that felt to some degree, to 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:25.000 verying degrees, angry hurt by Brian Kelly's departure. He made 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.400 a position for himself. Players have a hard time sometimes 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.120 coming to grips with that stuff, so there needed to 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.760 be some I would think healing and mending done right 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:35.720 away on the spot, with the Bowl game coming up 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.680 and some seniors playing their last game in Notre Dame. Well, 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:43.280 I wanted to make this about the seniors. I wanted 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:46.600 to make it about Notre Dame because it it's really 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:50.720 easily to associate a football program with a head coach, Um, 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.520 but it's to me, it's about the program, and it's 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:56.560 about these kids, and it's about the seniors that have 0:07:56.640 --> 0:08:00.760 been here four or five years and really um bled 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.200 for this program. And so that's what I wanted to 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:05.960 make sure that this vocal the focus was is that, Hey, 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.400 we wanted to finish that bowl game as as champions. 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.840 Unfortunately didn't. We didn't we didn't win that game. But 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.920 I think the process from the minute I was named 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.720 head coach to um that bowl game was just to 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.400 let's focus on the present, focus on the seams, focused, 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:22.000 focus on finishing this season off the right way, and 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:25.800 you know what we're going to change. We're gonna change, 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:27.800 We're gonna do the things that I believe it takes 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.440 to have success. Um. We're not going to erase Brian 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:35.800 Kelly right here. He did amazing things for this program 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.280 in eleven years. And as you said, you take over 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:40.240 a team that finished last season before the bowl game 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:44.079 number five in the country and so UM, it's unbelievable 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:46.880 where this program is at. And and but now it's 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:49.960 my opportunity to lead this program to in a way 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.600 that that I feel as best to my leadership style 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.080 and to UM the type of kids that we have. 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:59.839 And so I'm gonna trust the things in the way 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:02.040 I led to get me here. I'm going to continuously 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:04.839 try to learn UM ways to enhance the way I 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.679 as a leader, and uh, we'll see what results come 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:12.920 from that. Let's talk about your leadership style. When the 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.320 players have a player's only meeting and seven captains go 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:17.480 to the a D and say we want coach Freeman 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:21.360 and you are the player's choice. Players coach sort of 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:22.920 the layer as a label that comes along with that, 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:26.000 along with someone who's as young as you are now. 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.520 Players coach means different things in college ball, the NFL, 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:33.840 the NBA, old school college football coaches don't necessarily consider 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:38.080 players coach a compliment. I know you have your own 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:43.040 spin on that. What is players coach to? Well, it's 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:46.400 not the definition that Lou Holtz dead. And the first 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.920 time I met the hold Um, I remember the first 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.360 thing he said was, Marcus, I can tell you one 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.040 thing my players would never call me a players coach, 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:57.440 And I said, oh, coach, you know, and I just 0:09:57.440 --> 0:10:02.319 started laughing. Um, but here's what I hope it it. 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.360 I embrace being a players coach in my terms right, 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.880 and that there is no great coaches without great players. 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:10.440 And I tell these guys and I hope not just 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:12.080 through my words, but through my action, and said, I'm 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:14.560 a teammate. I'm a teammate, I'm the captain. I get it. 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.160 I set the standards, I hold people accountable. I'm the 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:20.079 guy that has to continue to evaluate our standards and 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:22.720 different things that are gonna help us achieve our goals. 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.480 But I'm in the fight with you. There is no 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.520 one person that's more important than another. And when we 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:30.280 have success, I want to be the first one that 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.880 stance because of you, and we have failures, I'm gonna 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:34.720 be the first one to say, what didn't I do 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.480 as an individual to make sure that we had a 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:39.600 chance to have success. And that's what I hope those 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.120 around me too. I hope our players do the same thing. 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:43.840 I hope our coaches do the same thing. And so 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:46.960 I am a player's coach. Um, I love them, I 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:49.120 respect them, but my job is to help him reach 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.800 their goals too, And in order to do that, you're 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:53.880 gonna have to be very demanding. You're gonna have to 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.560 make sure that, um, you hold every person in this 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.000 organization to the standards that you set and so um 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.520 that to me is part of my role. You know what. 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:04.080 My part of my role is to make sure that 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.160 they reached their current goals and their future goals. So 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:08.920 how can I make sure that I do everything in 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:11.200 my power to help them become national champions, help them 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:14.760 developed the NFL football players, but also help them learn 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:18.160 um different opportunities that they could take advantage of while 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.480 they're here that will help them in life after football. 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:22.280 And so all those different things in compass to me 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:26.839 what the players coaches, you've expressed that you have a 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:28.640 lot to learn and you're gonna make mistakes. We all 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.440 know that's a part of any growth curve, especially a 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:35.439 job it is extremely demanding, like like head coach at 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.040 Notre Dame, and that you need to learn from those mistakes. 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:43.320 At what point can you hope to get to a 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:47.360 place in this growth curve where mistake avoidance isn't the 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:48.959 top thing and you can just kind of let it 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.240 go and try to be as close to perfect as 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.320 you can be. I mean that that's a high bar, 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.800 but we all go through periods where I just I 0:11:57.800 --> 0:11:59.199 don't want to make this mistake, I don't want to 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.160 screw this up. And that that's a tough place to 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.240 kind of navigate through, isn't it. Yeah, it definitely is. 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:08.280 And um, I think you're always in a place where 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.840 you're trying to avoid mistakes, you know, and that, um, 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:14.600 but I think a part of it is is how 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:17.520 can you prepare as hard as you can to learn 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:20.319 some of those things that you don't have to learn um, 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:24.160 post game right or post experience. And so that's gaining 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.360 knowledge from other people that have done it, gaining knowledge 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:28.760 from those that have wisdom to give you in in 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:33.800 you know, really learning from other individual success and so mistakes, 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.720 and that's something that I really, um, I try to do. 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.200 But the mistakes are gonna happen. It's about learning from 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.840 it's about growing from them in amount, not making them 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.040 twice and not making too many of them. Yeah. No, 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:49.600 we never stopped making mistakes or trying to avoid them, 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:53.320 but I think that sometimes we're just the top of 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:54.920 mind is don't make a mistake. You don't want you 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:56.560 don't want your players to be like that in the field. 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:58.040 You can't go out in the field and worry about 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:00.160 you don't make a mistake. And that's just out the 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:01.880 way to succeed in football or anything else. So I 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:08.040 hear what you're saying. The big finish, I think a 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:12.760 big part is looking back reevaluate and say what didn't 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.480 we do or what did we do that's going to 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:16.560 help us in the future. That's something that we have 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.319 to continuously do, right and that you know, I'm not 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.439 looking at the Oklahoma State bleeding up to their saying 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:25.160 what mistakes can I make? You know, with the negative mindset, 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:28.400 and but when you look back and say, Okay, what 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:31.160 things can we learn from that game, from that process 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.520 of preparation? Right the game and so many different examples, 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.080 and we gotta be able to go back and reflect. 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:38.400 You want to be able to do that after wins, right, 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.199 those are the best times that you can go back 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.600 and reflect and learn from those um those moments after victories. 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:45.240 But you don't want him defeat. I think you have 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:48.120 to do it too. I want to talk about your background. 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.120 It's a background where you were shown from day one. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:55.400 I guess hard work, discipline, commitment, and sacrifice. Your dad 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:58.360 was in the Air Force, I think for twenty six years. Um, 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.920 your mom arrived from Korea as an immigrant and seventy 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:02.600 six and had to work. I heard you say, three 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:07.679 different jobs. So describe what you saw from them and 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:09.600 how that made you feel as a kid, and how 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.880 you've carried that fourth into adulthood and as a coach. Yeah. Still, 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:17.959 my father was forty three, um when my mother had me, 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:21.680 and he was retired, and um, he was a coach. 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:25.160 He he was our youth league coach. Um, you know, 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:27.920 but he was tough. He's a tough guy, very um, 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:31.440 discipline oriented, was was a firm believer. And you just 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:35.440 outwork your competition. You love your family, You treat people 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:38.800 with respect, but you you're you're never outworked. And um 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.880 sometimes his leadership wise was by example. And he woke 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.080 me and my brother up early in the morning and 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.440 while he was finishing his workouts, we were running in 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:50.040 place and uh, you know, our workouts began finished and 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:53.280 so placed in the room there and I heard I 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:55.560 heard you say the dad had a weight bench in 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:58.080 the dining room. That is a snapschat that says a 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:02.440 lot about the family. It's actually, uh, we're gonna do 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:05.920 a there's a stegment on college game day that I 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.760 think they're gonna try to get back and show up 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:12.160 a picture of it. I'm sure there's some evidence around 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.920 he he says, it wasn't as as strict as as 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.240 I make it seem to be. But um, I beg 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:19.440 to differ. I know how I remember it, you know, 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.200 versus how he may remember it. And and but then 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:26.000 you look at my mother, you know, and and she 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:29.320 to me spoke good English. But now that you go back, 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:31.240 sometimes you say, hey, it might have been broken English. 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:35.680 And and um, but she just worked tiresly and she 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.920 loved her family, and she would remember go to work. 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:41.440 She was probably here on her way to work or 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.200 leaving shortly after. We were up at five thirty working out. 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.480 And you know, on weekend she had another job with 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.480 her Korean friends, and then a night job being a custodian. 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:52.800 And I remember when she came home, she would always 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:56.600 cook an American meal for my father and sometimes for us, 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.040 me and my brother, and then she would make a 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.600 Korean mail for her and you know, me, I was. 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:03.640 I was bigger back then, and so I would probably 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:05.360 some of the American meal and some of the Korean 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:08.000 male and that's how I got to where I was. 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.920 But the sacrifice, the sacrifice you would make, the selflessness 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.760 that she had, the love she had for her family 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:18.360 is something I always remember. Yeah, you said that she 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:22.000 made everyone feel important, and that's something you tried to 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:24.680 carry across. I like a My Angelo quote where people 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:27.880 will remember primarily how you made them feel more even 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.240 than what you did or what you said to them. 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:33.920 And obviously you had to make people feel comfortable in 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:37.680 yourself to get this job. College football coach probably manages 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:40.920 more people than any other coaching job in the world 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:42.800 that I can think of, just because the roster sizes 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.920 double that of the NFL, etcetera. How do you strive 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:52.320 to make everyone on that group in that organization feel important? Well, 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.920 I think it starts with treat people with respect. And 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.720 you can be demanding, you can be clear on expectations, 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:02.520 you can address issue us um with honesty and openness, 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.200 and still treat people with respect. You know, please and 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:06.800 think I stay at all the time to our staff 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.679 saying please and thank you. UM it shouldn't be a 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.240 reminder that I have to give to others, but it's 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:14.679 something that we have to do, you know, to be 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:17.800 respectful of others. And that's just the way I was raised, 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:19.919 you know. Now, I think the other part of it 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.800 is being very clear on your standards and very clear 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:25.520 on it what you expect. And to other part is 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.720 we have to meet right now. Being fresh, Brian new 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:33.320 we have to meet constantly so everybody understands exactly what 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:36.720 the expectations are. We cannot assume I cannot assume everybody 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.760 knows exactly what I want. We have to meet daily 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:41.480 to make sure we're on the same page. We address 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:44.360 any issues that may arose from the day before, and 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:48.199 everybody's clear on the responsibilities, and so that's something I've 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.400 been doing. It's probably a little bit different than when 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.280 coach Kayla was here, being here eleven years, you know, 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.719 his expectations were very clear, you know, and and everybody 0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:59.440 knew exactly what he expected. Whereas with me, I think 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.280 being new to being the first year head coach, we 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.480 all have to meet day. We have to make sure 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.359 we we visit what happened the day before, we're on 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:09.439 the same page. On what's going to happen today and 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:13.199 where we are moving forward. You're an excellent college football 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.400 player at Ohio State, four year letterman, three years as 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.080 a starter at linebacker, among the top tacklers, and the 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:21.280 team you go to the league give it a chance. 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:24.080 But then your career suddenly ends with a physical with 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.000 the Indianapolis Colts when they discover an enlarge valve in 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:29.840 your heart, and right away your dreams of playing football 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.560 are taken away instantly. How does that shape how you 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:35.240 are as a coach and how you relate to young 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:39.879 people who believe that football will last forever. Yeah, I 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:43.680 think you know. The biggest thing is is I remember 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.120 back to when I was playinger or be even before 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:50.159 I was college. My only focus was on playing the 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.640 game at the highest level, trying to go to the NFL, 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:56.720 trying to win national championships. You didn't think about life 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.960 after football, because I think there was this misconception that hey, 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:03.240 if you start to think about life after football, you're 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.520 not gonna give yourself the best chance to have success. 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.560 And I tell our players off, that's a crazy wind thing, right, 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:11.400 And then you can work tiresly, you can do everything 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:13.240 in your power to make sure you're the most successful 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:16.080 football player you can be. But it's a shame if 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:19.439 you don't utilize this network and utilize this degree and 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.760 utilize the opportunities you have while you're here. And so 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.520 I spend enormous amount of time of telling them it's okay, 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:30.200 use it. It's encouraged use your network because at some moment, 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:32.760 it's a guarantee the game of football is gonna be over, 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:36.119 and it's not it's scary to kind of try to 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.680 figure out what you're gonna do after football when it's 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:41.879 already over. You know, utilize this opportunity to kind of 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:45.119 figure out what passions you have, what connections you have 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:48.320 that can help you in that transition when you're done. 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:51.040 And so I love being head coach here because you're 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.360 able to offer so many different opportunities for these young 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:57.879 guys to have um opportunities connect with other people, to 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:00.280 connect with the network, especially this older day net work, 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.280 and kind of just figure out at different times, um, 0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:05.560 what passions you might have outside of football. We're not 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.679 going to cheat football now, We're not going to cheat that. 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:10.880 We have no way to to maximize who we are 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.240 as a football team. If we do that, but there's 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:16.360 time that you can truly um network and figure out. 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:18.880 But that transition terms of think, that's you're passionate about 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:24.080