SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman might be at the top of the list for NFL owners looking to make splashy hires once again this offseason, but Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua isn’t about to watch idly from the sidelines.
“One of my main obligations and responsibilities to this university is to make sure Marcus wakes up every day knowing that he is supported and valued by Notre Dame,” Bevacqua said Tuesday at a wide-ranging news conference. “I can say with 100% certainty he feels that way.”
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Set to turn 40 on Jan. 10, Freeman is 43-12 in four seasons at the helm, a 78.2% clip. Despite an 0-2 start, he had Notre Dame solidly positioned for a second straight trip to the 12-team College Football Playoff before Sunday’s late reversal.
After signing a contract extension last December that takes him through 2030, Freeman’s estimated annual salary (roughly $9.5 million) is already lagging the likes of Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who was recently bumped up to $11.7 million a year.
“I would never say we wouldn’t match anything when it comes to Marcus,” Bevacqua said. “I make sure that he knows that he will be where he deserves to be, and that is at the top, top, top tier of college football coaches when it comes to compensation every year.
“I view his contract, although a multiyear contract, as a living, breathing document that we will revise every year as need be to make sure he’s where he deserves to be. He knows he has that commitment from me and more importantly from the university.”
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NFL coach says Marcus Freeman is ‘an absolute stud’
The Chicago Bears reportedly placed Freeman on their wish list in late 2024 before hiring Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
It’s still early in this year’s NFL hiring cycle, but already the New York Giants, with Elkhart native Joe Schoen as their general manager and former Notre Dame director of player personnel Tim McDonnell in the same role, have been said to hold Freeman in high esteem.
Even New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, like Freeman a former Ohio State linebacker, said this week on a national podcast that he’d tried to hire Freeman multiple times in the past.
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“I think Marcus Freeman is an absolute stud,” Vrabel said. “Notre Dame is in good hands with Marcus Freeman.”
Bevacqua, who returned to his alma mater in the fall of 2023 and formally succeeded longtime AD Jack Swarbrick in March of 2024, seems to agree.
“Everybody has eyes on Marcus,” Bevacqua said. “College has eyes on Marcus. NFL has eyes on Marcus. I bet Hollywood has eyes on Marcus. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in the next Leo DiCaprio movie with Martin Scorsese.
“Marcus is Marcus. All the credit to him. He deserves it. He’s the absolute best coach in the country for Notre Dame — full stop. One of the greatest college coaches in the country. And people forget how young he is, so I get it. That’s a compliment to him and his success and the way he represents himself and the way he prepares and who he is and how he talks.”
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Since his arrival at Notre Dame as Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator for the 2021 season, Freeman and his family have put down the sort of roots that make other college opportunities pale by comparison. This fall, that has reportedly included rebuffed overtures from the likes of LSU, Florida and Penn State.
As for the NFL, even with Freeman’s “Choose Hard” mentality and his own health-shortened pro career, the ultimate challenge of coaching at the sport’s highest level might not prove as alluring as some would think.
“Marcus is my friend,” former Notre Dame assistant Urban Meyer told Fox Sports this week. “He’s not asked me, but I would say you stay in college, 100%. You have controllables in college as a head coach. In the NFL, I found there’s so many controllables you don’t have. Whether it’s the GM, you have an owner, you have all kinds of things.
“In college, it’s you. Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame … now he has great support from the AD, the president (Rev. Robert A. Dowd). But as I found out, you give up so much when you take that next step and so much that’s out of your control.”
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A three-time national champion as coach at Florida and Ohio State, Meyer went 2-11 and was fired before finishing the 2021 season with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Plus, you’re going to lose in the NFL,” he said. “And I’m not sure the Marcus I know — he can’t take losing like I can’t take losing. You’re going to win at Notre Dame. Now, are you going to win the national title? I don’t know.
“But look at their schedule. He’s going to play a season every year where he’s favored in at least nine or 10 of those games, maybe more. That doesn’t happen at the next level.”
Why Marcus Freeman is ‘the perfect coach’ for Notre Dame football
Under must-win conditions over the past two seasons, Freeman has led the Irish to a 23-1 record after early season stumbles. They won 13 straight after stubbing their toe against Northern Illinois in Game 2 of 2024, and this year ended with a 10-game winning streak by an average of 29.7 points per victory.
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With Bevacqua having negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the CFP that guarantees Notre Dame entrance in a 12- or 14-team field in 2026 with a particular ranking, the stage is set for a retribution tour with Freeman at the helm.
As frustrated as the entire program is at this moment, Bevacqua projected confidence when it came to Freeman’s future with the Irish and the quest for the school’s first national title in football since 1988.
“Notre Dame is totally aligned around the importance of college football for Notre Dame,” Bevacqua said. “We’re totally aligned on how (Freeman) is the perfect coach for Notre Dame. It’s tough to say he’s more than the Notre Dame football coach because being the Notre Dame football coach means so much. But he’s more than the Notre Dame football coach.
“He’s part of this university. He’s part of the fabric of this university. So is (his wife) Joanna, so are his kids. He’s everywhere. He’s at soccer games, women’s and men’s basketball games, hockey games, talking to students. He’s an amazing individual and an amazing leader, and we feel blessed that he’s our coach.”
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Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NFL coach rumors: Will Marcus Freeman leave Notre Dame for New York Giants?
