Notre Dame football hasn’t won a championship in decades, but there’s no denying that it’s one of the most iconic brands in college football. The sights, sounds and traditions of South Bend, Indiana close to the sport’s heart, and it wouldn’t be autumn without the Irish taking the field under the gaze of Touchdown Jesus. Here Come The Irish, a new seven-episode miniseries on Peacock, takes us inside the Fighting Irish program’s past, present and future.
HERE COME THE IRISH: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman enters Notre Dame stadium for a workout in the early morning hours. It’s quiet, calm and peaceful. “I love being here and reflecting on the work that has to get done. It’s holy ground… what better place than being in the stadium at this time in the morning?”
The Gist: The first episode of Here Comes The Irish works to set up both the here and now and the context in which that’s happening. Through a series of interviews with head coach Marcus Freeman and a collection of prominent sportswriters and people around the Irish program, we learn about the history of the program, but also the stakes for Freeman as he enters a critical year in his coaching tenure in South Bend.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? It’s a little bit the love child of a Hard Knocks-type all-access program and the soft-focus pre-game segments NBC prepares before a Notre Dame football broadcast. It’s a little more polished (and less “real”) than the former, and a little more in-depth than the latter.
Our Take: I’ll be honest. Speaking as a college football fan who is not a fan of Notre Dame: it is not easy to make Notre Dame football likable. (I’d apologize to the Notre Dame fans reading this for saying that, but honestly, were you even shooting for likability? That’s not what you’re here for. Besides, I’m not sorry either way.)
Somehow, though, Here Come The Irish–a program I went into with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder–manages to come close to achieving the impossible: it made me think vaguely positive things about the Fighting Irish.
That improbable achievement is due in no small part to the presence of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, who’s brought a shot of youth, vitality and positivity to a program that was in desperate need of it a few years ago. (You know who wasn’t trying for likability? Brian Kelly, and he didn’t get anywhere close.)
Freeman was elevated to the head position in South Bend after Kelly and his “familuh” abruptly left for the LSU gig at the end of the 2021 season, and at age 35, he became the youngest head coach at Notre Dame in more than a half-century. In his first two-plus seasons, Freeman’s led the Irish to a 19-8 record. As he enters his third year, expectations are high.
“Year Three at Notre Dame has been the year,” longtime college football writer Pat Forde notes. “Ara Parseghian in ‘66 winning his first national title in his third year, Dan Devine in ‘77, Lou Holtz in ‘88… so there’s a track record there, and a suggestion that that’s the time to produce.”
“Now the learning curve has been established, now’s the time to put your footprint on your program,” NBC analyst Jordan Cornette concurs. “It’s firmly yours at that point.”
The pressure’s high this season, but the opportunity is there–an expanded playoff system gives a bit more margin for regular-season error, and the arrival of Duke transfer Riley Leonard at quarterback has the Irish primed to thrive.
There’s no future in South Bend without paying one’s respects to the past–wake up the echoes, and all that–and Freeman spends a good chunk of time in the first episode visiting with legendary head coach Lou Holtz. Freeman might’ve played at Ohio State, and made coaching stops at Akron, Purdue and Cincinnati, but he convincingly plays the part of someone with green and gold in his blood here.
Overall, Here Come The Irish is well-produced, with ample contribution from a range of prominent media members, and more importantly, it’s not over-produced: this isn’t an aggressive ad for the program; it’s a long-form love letter to it.
Sex and Skin: There is not now nor has there ever been anything sexy about Notre Dame football. That’s not what it’s there for!
Parting Shot: The Irish storm out of the tunnel, past the iconic “Play Like A Champion Today” sign, for their annual spring scrimmage. We get a stirring montage of intra-squad highlights, as Blue sneaks past Gold for a warm-up win. It’s no time to rest, and Freeman asks of his team: “How do we use this to continue to propel this group forward?”
Sleeper Star: Current head coach Marcus Freeman is the star of the show here, but respect is paid–both by Freeman and by the producers–to legendary former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, who appears here as the sage elder of the program. “Lou Holtz loves Notre Dame, and that’s very evident when you spend time with him,” Freeman reflects. “He always tells me, ‘I’ll give you my opinion, but never any advice’… but his opinion matters.”
Most Pilot-y Line: A stirring speech comes courtesy of a perhaps-unexpected figure around South Bend–longtime Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, a mentor to Freeman who pops in to talk to his protege’s team. “We always said: you cannot win the national championship in spring practice–but you can lose it. If every single one of us does not progress, then we’re going to lose the national championship in the spring… what a blessing you have to be at Notre Dame. Go Irish.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. I’ll be darned, I didn’t think this would appeal to anyone who’s not a Notre Dame fan, but Here Come The Irish is a worthy tribute to the things that make us love college football.
Scott Hines, publisher of the widely-beloved Action Cookbook Newsletter, is an architect, blogger and proficient internet user based in Louisville, Kentucky.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Here Come The Irish’ on Peacock, An Insider’s Look At The Notre Dame Football Team appeared first on Decider.
