After the Notre Dame men’s basketball team lost 75-60 to Louisville at home on Sunday, head coach Micah Shrewsberry let all his frustrations run wild at the post-game press conference.
The second-year head coach is in the midst of a rough stretch. Following a 13-20 first season at the helm, the Fighting Irish were 10-10 on January 28 and feeling good about their direction. However, they’ve lost four of their last five and now find themselves 11-14 and on the brink of missing out on the postseason for a second straight season.
Following the latest loss, On3’s Jake Soble asked Shrewsberry what the biggest issue was during this ongoing rough stretch. After ruminating for a bit, the coach launched into a fiery defense of himself and his team, culminating in him smacking the mic stand and leaving in a huff.
Micah Shrewsberry went on a 2:40 rant in his postgame press conference, which included hitting a mic.
“You think I should be fired? Good for you. You’re allowed to have opinions. A lot of people have given up this team and given up on me. I don’t really give a damn.” pic.twitter.com/e0xP2xFvCi
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreeman05_) February 17, 2025
“We’re going to keep fighting. That’s it. As a group, as a team, we’re going to keep fighting,” said Shrewsberry. “We’re going to keep trying to get back to the drawing board. We keep trying to guard people. We keep trying to score people. We’re playing good people, too. But I know these guys aren’t going to quit. Know they’re not going to quit.
“I understand that a lot of people have quit on us, and well-deserved. If you hate me, absolutely. Absolutely, man. Great. If you think I suck, if you think I can’t coach, I’m with you, man. Good. Good for you because you’re allowed to have opinions. If you think I should be fired, good for you. You’re allowed to have opinions, right? A lot of people have given up on this team. They’ve given up on me. I don’t really give a damn. I believe in myself, and I believe in these guys, okay? So don’t give up on these guys. Don’t give up on these guys. Don’t give up on these kids. If you don’t want to show up because of me, don’t show up because of me. Because you think I suck. Cool. I’m okay with that.
“I know people believe in me. I know people at Notre Dame believe in me. But don’t give up on these kids, man. What have they done for people to give up on them? I know if you’re not with us because we’re losing, you don’t want to come watch this, fine. But do it because of me then. But not these kids, man. They don’t deserve that. They don’t deserve that.
“Ain’t nobody else getting home at 5:00 a.m. from Boston College and going to class the next day and coming to practice and working out and preparing to play Louisville. Nobody else is doing that. Don’t give up on these kids, man. I don’t care about anybody’s opinion. I know who I am. I know I can coach basketball. I know I’m turning this program around.
“So you gave up on me already? I don’t want to see you back here. I don’t give a damn. Don’t give up on these kids because we gonna get this thing rolling. I sat there and watched more Louisville fans in here than Notre Dane people. That’s embarrassing. That’s embarrassing for me because I’m the head coach here.
“Yes, I got us in this predicament. But don’t come back when we’re…winning because we’re turning this around, man. You better believe that. Everybody that gave up on me, believe it. Write this date down and believe it, because we’re going to get this thing rolling. I don’t care if you gave up on me or not.”
With that, Shrewsberry smacked the mic stand over and left.
As far as these things go, it has a lot of the fundamentals you want to see in an angry head coach press conference rant: a strong “nobody believes in us” vibe, several mentions of how he doesn’t care what people think while also scolding people for their criticisms, some serious stink face, and quick lateral motion on the mic swipe before leaving without looking back.
We’ll give it a solid B and we’re ready to bump it up if it motivates the Irish to start winning again.
