Well, it’s 1998 all over again for Notre Dame—playoffs!—and Marcus Freeman is the man steering the ship. His leadership, especially in the critical stretch in the Penn State matchup, has made him one of the season’s standout coaches. That’s sure a big deal, right? However, Freeman isn’t one to toot his own horn. As his quarterback, Riley Leonard points out, Freeman is all about the team effort. It’s like the old saying, “There’s no ‘I’ in team”

It’s clear that Marcus Freeman completely revamped Notre Dame’s game strategy. The results speak for themselves. With an impressive 11-3 record and no SEC teams in the mix, the program has come a long way. This certainly deserves recognition, but Freeman’s humble nature doesn’t make it easy for him to accept credit. However, his star QB, Riley Leonard, knows exactly what Freeman brings to the table. Riley praises Freeman, saying, “how great he is,” only for Freeman to respond in classic fashion.

After the conference, Riley shares, ” he like slap me on the side of the head and be like dude don’t be saying all that like this is a team like the same person you get in the interviews is the same person he’s going to be behind closed doors like he’s not sliding me five bucks hey thanks for saying that you know he’s like dude don’t say that like this is a team effort.” Now, even if Marcus Freeman is not ready to take up the credit, we all know he is the one out there creating history for the team. It’s not just a win for his team but for the whole division, as he is the first Black head coach to enter the championship for FBS Division I. Isn’t that a big deal?

Moreover, they kick off the 2024 College Football Playoff as the seventh seed, taking down in-state rival Indiana before facing two-seed Georgia in the quarterfinals and winning it. Plus, the victory over the Bulldogs clinches Notre Dame’s first-ever 13-win season in the program’s history. That’s what Freeman did for the team. Despite his excellent skills in the field, Freeman is also an absolute sweetheart in his personal life. A noteworthy aspect of Freeman’s style is his insistence that janitors introduce themselves at fall camp. He remembers all their names and shows them genuine respect. That’s the kind of person Freeman is!

Well, talking about his core nature, Riley Leonard also says, “he’s also very charitable so like we do a lot of charity work that nobody really sees like without cameras um so like he’ll move practice to the morning and then cancel like the night walkthrough and say like all right you guys got to go out into the Southbend area and give back and do community service.”It’s clear that Marcus Freeman isn’t just a great leader, but also a great human. But what happens if Notre Dame loses the guy who changed their fate? Well, there are definitely some NFL teams rooting hard for Freeman to make the jump.

Is Notre Dame going to lose Marcus Freeman to the NFL?

The season of the Fighting Irish has been incredibly impressive, and Marcus Freeman has rightfully received widespread praise for his efforts. It was never a question of if NFL teams would be interested in Freeman, but rather when they would come calling. He possesses the qualities that franchises desire in a coach – youth, eloquence, and true leadership. Colin Cowherd even compared him to Sean McVay, although Freeman’s expertise lies on the defensive side. This is high praise for someone stepping into his first head coaching role.

However, when it comes to the Bears, things feel almost too good to be true. While college football has done away with divisions, the NFL still has them, and the strength of those divisions is important. The NFC North is particularly challenging, with Green Bay finishing 1-5 in divisional games despite their 11 wins. Detroit and Minnesota dominated with 15 and 14 wins respectively, while Chicago only managed 4. Pat Forde suggests that Marcus Freeman should think twice before jumping into this divisional chaos. The gap between these teams and the Bears is currently too large, and Freeman would face tough competition from elite coaches.

Moreover, recently Marcus Freeman signed a contract extension with Notre Dame, earning a salary of $9 million per year. This clearly indicates that transitioning to the NFL wouldn’t be an easy move for every coach. For example, Freeman would have to accept a significantly lower paycheck if he were to make the leap. Furthermore, with such high salaries at stake, switching to the NFL involves a whole new set of challenges for coaching careers. The stakes and difficulties are much greater in the NFL.