Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman is preparing the No. 9 Fighting Irish for a tough trip to face the No. 22 Pittsburgh Panthers in Week 12 of college football action. The Fighting Irish have a 7-2 record this season, with a chance to still clinch a berth in the College Football Playoff.
In the past few weeks, as several top coaching jobs in college football have become vacant, Freeman has been linked to programs such as the LSU Tigers, Florida Gators, and Penn State Nittany Lions.
Marcus Freeman Addresses Links to CFB Jobs
After leading the Fighting Irish to the national championship game last season, Freeman has become one of the most talked-about junior coaches in college football. During his weekly news conference, the Notre Dame coach talked about his approach with his players whenever he is linked with moves to top programs.
“A lot of times in things I say to the team, it may come out in terms of, a great example, is, ‘What’s the noise you’re putting in your head?’ Just because the noise in somebody else’s head is one thing, doesn’t mean it has to be your noise,” Marcus Freeman said.
Freeman has not only been linked to vacant college football jobs; when the New York Giants fired Brian Daboll on Monday, the Notre Dame coach’s name was immediately linked to the NFL franchise. In his news conference, Freeman revealed that he tells his players to ignore the news cycle that links him to every available top job.
“And so, as I told them, I’m sure I’ve said before, like just because somebody else might be saying my name’s up for whatever job or being considered, that isn’t the noise that I’m going to put in my head or I need, that ain’t my noise,” Freeman said.
“And so, I can address it directly, indirectly. If I’m going to spend time talking about something like that, I’ve got to make sure it’s in a way that it’s beneficial for the players, right? Your time in front of the players is so limited.”
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Freeman has experienced a rapid rise in college football, starting his career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2010. He then became the linebackers coach at Kent State and Purdue between 2011 and 2015. In 2016, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator of the Boilermakers, and he held the D.C. position at Cincinnati from 2017 to 2020.
In 2021, he arrived in South Bend as the Fighting Irish’s defensive coordinator under Brian Kelly, before succeeding him when he took the LSU Tigers job. Freeman has compiled a 40-12 record as a head coach in college football. Currently, the PFSN’s CFB Playoff metric ranks Notre Dame 6th with a 2.3% chance of becoming the national champions.