NFL coaching search: Teams reportedly still pursuing Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman
- - NFL coaching search: Teams reportedly still pursuing Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman
Yahoo Sports Staff January 12, 2026 at 1:45 AM
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NFL teams are continuing to pursue Notre Dame's Marcus in their search for a new head coach — despite Freeman's earlier indication he intends to stay with the Irish for the upcoming season — NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.
Freeman had loomed as a strong potential candidate for upcoming head-coaching vacancies in the NFL last month before he announced on X on Dec. 29 that he planned to return to Notre Dame.
2026…run it back Go Irish ☘️
— Marcus Freeman (@Marcus_Freeman1) December 29, 2025
With eight NFL teams currently searching for a new head coach, that hasn't deterred some of them from continuing to vet Freeman's candidacy behind the scenes, Rapoport reported. Freeman likely wouldn't be involved in a lengthy interview process by those teams, which continue to expect Freeman to make the jump to the NFL at some point in the future, if not this offseason.
Freeman and the school reportedly agreed to a restructured deal that will pay the coach among the "top tier" of head-coach salaries.
Freeman, 39, has excelled at the university since taking over the head-coaching role in 2021. Since then, Freeman has compiled a 43-12 record. The Fighting Irish have been ranked every season under Freeman and made it all the way to the national championship last season, when Notre Dame lost to Ohio State.
Notre Dame was in good shape to make the College Football Playoff this season, but a final-week change by the committee left the Fighting Irish out of the bracket. That decision was met with controversy and drew some salty responses from Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. Notre Dame declined to participate in bowl games following the snub.
Yahoo Sports' Chris Cwik contributed to this story.
Source: “AOL Sports”
