Rich Freeman, a 15 year veteran of the football coaching fraternity just completed his tenth season at Morehouse College. Hired in March of 2007, Freeman directed his first Morehouse team to a surprising 7-3 record and into the upper echelon of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), where the Maroon Tigers have taken permanent residence, with the mantra, "Play Fast, Hard, and Smart."
Over the past four seasons, Freeman's teams have compiled an enviable 28-13 record. His 2010 (8-3) squad was the first Morehouse football team ever selected to compete in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The personable coach confesses to having been bitten early-on by the coaching bug. He has had wide and varied experience having coached at both the Division I and II levels as well as in the NCAA and the NAIA. Well-traveled in his coaching career, the Atlanta native has had coaching stints at Tennessee State University, Alabama State University, Miles College, Concordia College-Selma and Lane College.
A defensive specialist, Freeman has coordinated defenses and coached linebackers, defensive linemen, defensive backs and special teams. As a position coach, his well-prepared, highly motivated and effective units have received high regional and national rankings.
A determined and aggressive recruiter, Coach Freeman has literally transformed the Maroon Tigers into a team with which to be reckoned. He has recruited talented student-athletes that have in the past avoided Morehouse. In his tenure, the Morehouse team has had 26 player selections to the all-conference football team. Noteworthy among them were linebacker Jeffrey Cargile, the 2008 SIAC Defensive Player of the Year and the first Morehouse player to receive first-team All-America honors; All-SIAC tailback David Carter whose 1,347 rushing yards set the single-season school standard and paced the 2010 playoff team to eight-wins; Ramon Harewood, a three-time All-SIAC offensive tackle and the first Maroon Tiger drafted by an NFL team, taken in 2010 by the Baltimore Ravens; Derrin Nettles, a first-team All-American selection to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II squad as well as the Associated Press' Little All-America Team. Nettles was also the 2010 SIAC Defensive Player of the Year.
During his career, Freeman has also coached and recruited a number of notable players. At Tennessee State he mentored Bennie Anderson, Leon Murray and Michael Thompson who went on to play professionally with the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons respectively. While at Alabama State, Freeman coached defensive end Earl Cochran who went on to play for the Houston Texans. At Lane College, he had a hand in the development, on special teams, of Jacoby Jones who was a 2007 third round pick by the Houston Texans.
Well-received at Morehouse, from the administration and the student body to the alumni and athletic department, Freeman has been an instant hit. “Rich is exactly what we were looking for; he embodies integrity, compassion and knowledge,” says Athletics Director Andre Pattillo. Freeman attributes his success to a coaching staff that has been intact since his arrival in 2007. "Coaching continuity and consistency have been the foundation of our program, We have also been blessed with eminently coachable players who have accepted us and bought into our system."
Freeman played his high school football for the late William Lester at Atlanta Public Schools powerhouse Crim High School where he received all-state honorable mention as a linebacker. A 1997 graduate of Tennessee State University with a B.S. in physical education, Freeman was a three-year starting linebacker at the Nashville institution. Serving as team captain during his senior season, he earned Ohio Valley Conference honorable mention honors.
Coach Freeman is married to the former Kimm Marie Grafenreed; they are the parents of son, Rich IV, and daughter, Reagan Mariah.
