The Notre Dame football team is preparing for its first national title appearance since the 2012 season. The Irish have not won a championship since 1988, which was a few seasons after the Chicago Bears last won a Super Bowl.
No. 7 seed Notre Dame will take on No. 8 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 20. The shorthanded Irish need to focus in preparation this week before they take on a $20 million roster in Atlanta.
The Chicago Bears want to interview Marcus Freeman
The Fighting Irish were served a major distraction on Sunday morning. Per the NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero, the Bears want to interview the 39-year-old coach.
“I am told the team wants to interview Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman for the job,” Pelissero said. “Freeman is in the midst of a magical run with the Fighting Irish to the national championship game. Obviously unlikely that he would entertain NFL overtures prior to that game a week from tomorrow against Ohio State, but the Bears have done extensive research for months on Marcus Freeman. He’s only 39 years old. Would not be a shock if at some point he at least considers going to the NFL.”
The Bears are looking to interview Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman for their HC opening, per @TomPelissero. pic.twitter.com/fjujUFyVKW
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 12, 2025
Freeman would not be a cheap hire for the Bears. Per an Irish Illustrated report, Notre Dame recently agreed to a contract extension to pay Freeman $9 million per year.
“Sources tell FootballScoop’s John Brice, also of Irish Illustrated, that Freeman’s annual salary is expected to jump from $7 million to an average of more than $9 million for the term of the deal. Additionally, the incentive structure of his deal, which includes bonuses for making the College Football Playoffs, is also being tweaked.”
Notre Dame football has been better under Freeman
Freeman was a two-time All-Big Ten linebacker for the Ohio State . The Bears drafted Freeman in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. Chicago waived him in September of the 2009 season. Freeman retired in May 2010 due to a heart condition.
Freeman got his first start in coaching as a graduate assistant for Ohio State in 2010. He had coaching stops with Kent State and Purdue before taking the defensive coordinator position at Cincinnati in 2017. Following four seasons with the Bearcats, Freeman took the Notre Dame DC job in 2021.
When Brian Kelly left the Fighting Irish for LSU, Freeman was promoted to head coach. He’s gone 30-9 as Notre Dame’s head coach.
During his three-year tenure at Notre Dame, Freeman has 14 wins over Top 25 opponents. He also has head-scratching losses to Marshall and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium.
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