I give Freeman a mulligan for Oklahoma State game - he was practically an interim coach at that point.
The bad parts of his first 2 years were disappointing. Year 1 Marshall was a bad loss. Stanford was a bad loss. Offense in year 1 capped with talent available outside of O-line/TE. Year 2. Outplayed OSU in the loss. Moral victories mean little, but it was the first time in a long time we've played a big boy team and looked superior/comparable at almost every level. Offense capped by QB and WR talent, and a OC hire that fell through. I liked the Hartman grab based on the talent in the QB room. He was basically at his celling already, but could have got us another win or 2 with better WR play and/or injury luck.
He went out an grabbed an Elite OC this offseason. He already has an Elite DC who he locked up with an extension. Riley has much more upside than any QB we've had in a long time. The other QBs are either going to compete or leave. We've restocked with complementary recruiting at every position.
Year 3 - no excuses. 2 full recruiting cycles. His own guys at coordinator positions. He's done well with those items. I agree it could be special