iStockphoto / © Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / © MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Marcus Freeman is prepping for his sixth season at Notre Dame. His team is in the midst of spring practice in preparation of the 2026 campaign.
The head coach has seen a few scuffles break out between Irish teammates, which is to be expected. In fact, Freeman welcomes it.
He spoke on the intensity of offseason sessions during a recent press conference. He wants his team to fight, at least to a certain extent.
Marcus Freeman encourages practice tussles.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman is OK with occasional, brief, physical altercations to settle scores in practices. He likens them to brothers fighting.
“If we don’t have scuffles or tussles then we’re probably not as competitive as I aspire to have our team to be.”
Football guy. pic.twitter.com/sZonm3jrHD
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) April 1, 2026
He has a reason for the outlook. It’s linked directly to competition and effort.
“If we don’t have scuffles or tussles then we’re probably not as competitive as I aspire to have our team to be,” he said while speaking to media members in South Bend.
There are parameters to fighting, though.
Freeman will not allow it to form into a brawl. These are contained, brief scuffles that end soon after the initial jab is thrown. He will also not allow for incidents to impact the relationships of his players.
“We have a simple rule. Two guys fighting is the max. We’re not going to have full team melees. If two guys are fighting, they’re fighting. Everyone else’s job is to break them up. We have to be proactive in that in terms of showing them and teaching them…
“You want that. But here’s the other side of things… It’s like brothers. Brothers fight, but there’s a line you don’t cross… and you don’t take it off the field. It can’t be personal.”
Football. Guy.
Freeman wants his team to show emotion. He wants players to be competitive. Sometimes, the negative result is a fight. So long as it doesn’t form into something bigger, the Irish allow it.
Lane Kiffin discourages fighting.
Marcus Freeman’s view represented a stark contrast to what’s seen in Baton Rouge. Kiffin recently spoke on the same topic as it relates to LSU.
He, too, has seen scuffles break out during the spring practice session. He’s nipped it in the bud.
“We had no fights today and we had like 6 fights the other day. We had to teach them that we don’t fight… You’ve got to go back and teach everything from the beginning as if they don’t know anything.” – Lane Kiffin pic.twitter.com/gDodAX2qzt
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) March 31, 2026
“We had no fights today and we had like 6 fights the other day,” he recalled in a recent presser. “We had to teach them that we don’t fight… You’ve got to go back and teach everything from the beginning as if they don’t know anything.”
Neither outlook is right or wrong. Both are teaching moments. Lane Kiffin prefers to keep control. He wants cooler heads to prevail. Freeman likes a little contained chaos.
As far as game situations go, Kiffin’s approach may be more beneficial in regard to limiting penalties. Freeman is willing to take the risk if it means keeping a competitive edge.