Notre Dame and football head coach Marcus Freeman powered through a competitive first half to blow out Wisconsin in the 2026 season opener on Sunday evening.
While it was an impressive way for Freeman to begin his fifth full season as the Notre Dame coach, some of the conversation online surrounded the coach’s haircut.
More specifically, social media users pointed out what may have been a hairline that was enhanced by black dye.
“This man has no shame,” X user @Less_HumbleTeej wrote about Freeman in a tweet that went viral.
The comments about Freeman’s haircut did not stop there, with popular comedian Kevin Fredericks (known as KevOnStage online) joining in on the jokes.
Fredericks, who is bald, even painted his own head black in an attempt to mock Freeman’s hair seen on the NBC broadcast during Notre Dame’s win over Wisconsin.
“Marcus it’s time to stop,” Fredericks wrote in the caption of his video imitating Freeman’s haircut. The full video can be seen below.
Others on social media wondered why the Notre Dame coach, who has had a similar haircut for several years, has not yet opted for a trip to Turkey; the country is often referenced as the unofficial hair transplant capital of the world due to low costs for the procedures compared to the United States.
“As much as he makes a trip to Turkey was very reasonable since he cares so much,” X user @C3dric83 wrote in a tweet.
Freeman is tied for the sixth-highest average annual salary ($12 million) among college football coaches entering this season, Sportico reported last week. The Fighting Irish coach could stand to make even more with incentives.
Notre Dame entered Sunday’s 41-13 victory ranked as the No. 4 team in the country, and the Irish were as much as a 21-point betting favorite prior to the matchup.
However, Notre Dame led just 13-10 at halftime in a game played at the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field in Wisconsin.
Things changed over the final two quarters, though, as Wisconsin was outscored by Notre Dame 28-3. Irish quarterback CJ Carr, considered a Heisman Trophy candidate, completed 19 of his 29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
“I think the biggest thing was the ability to just let go of what you thought this game was going to be like and focus on the moment,” Freeman said after the season-opening win. “As I reminded (the players), whatever you thought this game was going to be let it go. It was going to be a struggle.”
After making it all the way to the national championship game in the 2024-25 season before losing to Ohio State, Freeman’s Notre Dame program is among the favorites to make it back to the final stage during the 2026 campaign.
Notre Dame was controversially excluded from the 12-team College Football Playoff field at the end of last season, and the school then opted not to accept an invite to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
