Although Notre Dame came close to winning its thrilling opening game vs. Miami on Sunday night, that honor ultimately went to the Canes, who sealed the deal on a 47-yard go-ahead field goal with 1:04 left on the clock. But Irish head coach Marcus Freeman wisely did not hit the panic button immediately after; instead, he noted that, for his squad, the "effort was there," a message he continued into the locker room.
In a video shared by ND's social media team, Freeman is heard delivering a fiery and inspiring postgame speech to a rapt audience of players. In our opinion, it's good enough to motivate really anyone listening, player or not, and it seems like the internet is also in agreement.
Fans loved the clip, and were quick to reshare it with a nod to Freeman in the ensuing post.
Here is the original video and transcription:
“I don’t care if you didn’t play a snap or you played every down. I don’t care if you're a coordinator, if you’re a position coach, or if you're a [graduate assistant], it doesn’t matter. Everybody points the finger at themselves and say, ‘What could we have done to make sure that we achieved the outcome that we want?’ And that’s what we’ll do, right? Stay together.
“We got the best leadership. And this is when leadership has to show, right? Keep us together. We gotta go to work. I’m not saying continue to do the same. We gotta find different ways and better ways of doing it. We can’t beat Notre Dame. And we know there was plays in that game where we beat Notre Dame.
“Credit to them. It’s a good team, top 10 battle. We lost by three. Okay, we lost by three. The first game of the season, right? We got a good ball team. I sat there and watched—I said, ‘Okay, we had to go through a little bit of the bumps in the road, but we got a good ball team, but we gotta get back to work.’ Right? This taste of pain, it hurts. The embarrassment. Okay. We gotta use this as we go back to work. We’re gonna go back to work, right? Stay together, man.”
Back to work.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 1, 2025
Stay together ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/H3rZOkoSLE
And here is the fan reaction:
Leadership in adversity
— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) September 2, 2025
I’ve been around Marcus Freeman and this program… his players play for him
Most teams wouldn’t even post after a Week 1 loss
Notre Dame has been here before… and their playoff path is still in front of thempic.twitter.com/541B3SvvoP
Hate how much I like him lmao https://t.co/vOgcM6xQl1
— Mike (@MikeSanchize) September 2, 2025
Leadership at its finest https://t.co/dBNRtgJiLg
— Nathan Erbach (@Nathan_Erbach) September 1, 2025
Would follow him to the gates of hell. https://t.co/CqiM3QtWuB
— Dougie Sant (@dougiesant) September 1, 2025
Accountability and humility are the two best characteristics of any leader and Marcus Freeman has both! pic.twitter.com/JlSQFj06ue
— Bruce Straughan (@bruce_straughan) September 1, 2025
Marcus Freeman is going to take Notre Dame to the promised land. ☘️
— Caleb Conrad (@CalebConrad23) September 1, 2025
Freeman is an incredible leader. pic.twitter.com/EB80hNAdN8
"We got a good ball team, but we got to get back to work. Right? This taste of pain, it hurts. The embarrassment. OK. We got to use this as we go back to work...Stay together, man."
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 1, 2025
This is how you handle a loss.
Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman can coach.pic.twitter.com/cgLp2b9vMs
The Fighting Irish will get another chance at a W when they host Texas A&M on Sept. 13.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans Loved Marcus Freeman's Fiery Speech to Players After Notre Dame's Loss to Miami.
