Nicole Auerback andChris Vannini Coaches and staff Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame head football coach | Age: 36 Players don’t always get a say in who their next head coach will be, but Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick knew he had to listen to a locker room still smarting after Brian Kelly abruptly left for LSU. And they wanted then-defensive coordinator Freeman to get the job. “There were external factors that played a role in the players’ desire to maintain the culture first and foremost,” Swarbrick told The Athletic. “But, in addition to observing him for over a year, there was extensive interviewing that went on. His performance was compelling. He had a strong vision and an ability to articulate how he wanted the program built, what he thought was important. He had a strong sense of Notre Dame, which was interesting for a guy who had only been here a year. “But the thing that struck me most then and strikes me every day now is, he is an unbelievably direct communicator. He tells you precisely what he thinks. He is not going to sugarcoat something or say something he doesn’t believe in. It sets him apart in many ways.” For example, Freeman wanted to bring back the tradition of going to Mass on gameday, so he asked if he could, then did it. He doesn’t shy away from the unique aspects of Notre Dame other coaches may view as obstacles. He told Swarbrick he didn’t need to change anything “because that’s what’s going to make us great.” “He also has an innate optimism, even when things are challenging,” Swarbrick said. “He is a fundamentally optimistic person.” Two years ago, he was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati. Now, he’s the head football coach at Notre Dame with the world’s eyes upon him. But those who have spent time around him say they can’t imagine anyone else better suited for success. Todd Golden, Florida men’s basketball head coach | Age: 37 From tracking deflections to challenging conventional endgame fouling strategies to charting individual player data, Golden is a poster child for analytics in college hoops, a coach at the cutting edge of the game’s evolution. He’s also a big believer in the transfer portal as the way to win quickly in college basketball today. Florida hired Golden on the heels of an NCAA Tournament appearance for his San Francisco Dons, who earned a No. 10 seed and lost in overtime to Murray State. The West Coast Conference to the SEC is about as big a jump as a coach can make in one offseason, but expectations are high for a quick reset in Gainesville. Golden has worked under Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and current Washington State coach Kyle Smith, back when the latter was at Columbia. For those of you that are not subscribers. Katie Turner, Florida, assistant athletic director of football recruiting | Age: 28 Working under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, Turner saw up close what it takes to land the nation’s elite football prospects. And in December 2021, she took her talents from Athens to Gainesville, hired by new head coach Billy Napier to direct Florida’s recruiting strategy. At Florida, Turner runs the show as the full-service point person for how prospective players are treated on campus and how the football program showcases itself on social media. Napier knew how important she would be to what he’s building — Turner was his director of on-campus recruiting for two seasons at Louisiana before she went to Georgia — and has made her one of the most interesting players in college football recruiting. It was just nine years ago when Turner volunteered to be a recruiting hostess in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country every year she worked with the program as an undergraduate student. Now, she’s an assistant AD in charge of an SEC program’s entire recruiting operation. “I’ve always believed in myself,” Turner told The Athletic this spring. “But, sometimes, I think the coaches believe in me even more.” The Athletic's inaugural College Sports 40 Under 40
Let's hope Stricklin hit it out of the park with these two hires "recruting hostess" has an interesting ring to it. Wonder how many coeds are involved. Either way it's how the business works now and even more importantly, what the players expect when they take visits. To be treated like kings.
