A quiet departure from tradition
Marcus Freeman, the head coach of the University of Notre Dame football program, announced that he would not cast a ballot in the 2024 preseason US LBM Coaches Poll. In a brief statement, he explained that he was unaware of the voting procedure and had entrusted the task to members of his staff, marking the first time in his career that he has abstained from the poll.
Despite his absence, Notre Dame remains prominently positioned in the preseason rankings, landing at No. 5 nationally and earning five first‑place votes. The Irish are thus grouped among the most highly regarded teams as the new season approaches.
The US LBM Board of Coaches, which administers the poll, includes a cadre of established leaders such as Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti. Collectively, these coaches represent 75 % of active national champions, underscoring the poll’s reliance on experienced administrators.
This season, five coaches who will face Notre Dame during the regular schedule participated in the vote: Purdue’s Barry Odom, Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard, Navy’s Brian Newberry, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee and Syracuse’s Fran Brown. Additionally, former Irish assistants Clark Lea at Vanderbilt and Lance Taylor at Western Michigan also cast ballots.
The conversation around Notre Dame’s placement does not extend to the College Football Playoff selection, which is handled by a separate committee. Freeman emphasized that the decision to skip the poll was an internal one, driven by a lack of familiarity with the process and a desire to streamline responsibilities within his staff.
The trend of top coaches delegating ballot management is not unique to Notre Dame. Programs across the country often rely on administrative aides to navigate the poll’s intricacies, allowing head coaches to focus on on‑field preparation while still ensuring their programs are represented.