The time has come for some NFL teams to examine their future and pick a head coach who they hope can take them to the playoffs. They now have one fewer option after one prospect took himself off the market.
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Head coach Marcus Freeman has officially announced that he will return to coach the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He will take on his fifth full season after leading the team to a 10-2 record — Notre Dame opted out of a bowl game after missing the College Football Playoff cut.
Sports Illustrated first broke the news on Monday. Pat Forde said that Freeman had agreed to a restructured contract with Notre Dame that makes him among the "top tier" of coaches in terms of compensation. Additionally, this deal adds one more year to the contract while keeping Freeman in the program through the 2031 season.
Freeman has been a oft-discussed prospect over the last couple of seasons as NFL teams have tried to find new head coaches. The Chicago Bears, in particular, sought to interview him before ultimately hiring Ben Johnson.
This season, betting markets have tied Freeman to the Giants, who fired Brian Daboll in early November. Sports Illustrated noted that the 39-year-old had informed two separate teams of his decision to remain at Notre Dame for the foreseeable future.
One reason for the interest is the level of success since Freeman took over as head coach in 2022. He had guided the Fighting Irish to a 43-12 record and a 78.2% win rate. He took the team to the national championship last season but ultimately fell short of the ultimate goal.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua acknowledged that multiple NFL teams had interest in his head coach in early December. He reiterated that the university's goal was to keep Freeman in the program and to ensure that he remained happy.
"Everybody has eyes on Marcus," Bevacqua said. "College has eyes on Marcus; NFL has eyes on Marcus. I bet Hollywood has eyes on Marcus. He's the absolute best coach in the country for Notre Dame, full stop, one of the greatest college coaches in the country."
