For a successful coach like Marcus Freeman, winning often brings an unwelcome reward. That’s what happened at the end of last season when his name started getting linked to vacancies in the pros. The New York Giants, in particular, were keen on having the Irish head coach. However, he soon silenced the noise around his position at Notre Dame. Months later, Freeman addressed how he felt at that moment.

“The year before, there was a little bit of chatter. But you’re in the playoffs, and that’s your only focus,” Freeman said to Josh Pate on Josh Pate’s College Football Show episode, which aired on May 21. “This year got really loud after the end of the regular season. I’ve never been in this position where we’re not playing the bowl game or playing in the playoffs.

So I did, I took a minute to really say, ‘What is this opportunity to be an NFL head coach?’ I’ve never coached the NFL. I wanted to know what they look for, what they think it takes to be successful. And I gained some valuable knowledge.”

But even while gaining that knowledge, the Irish head coach knew that his players came before everyone. In Ole Miss’s case, the uncertainty surrounding Lane Kiffin’s position was what turned the team against him when he eventually left. Freeman didn’t let that happen at South Bend.

“I was always honest with our players. If they asked, I talked to them and said, ‘Listen, guys, I’m head coach of Notre Dame, and I can’t control what opportunities or what people are saying outside of this building.’ And I was always in communication with our athletic director and my family.”

The whispers created a frenzy among the fans with just one doubt: whether Freeman would trade the golden helmet for the NFL. On his part, he earned those rumors after totally changing the trajectory of Notre Dame. Right after taking over Brian Kelly, Freeman led the Irish to a nine-win campaign and a Gator Bowl victory. During the 2024 campaign, the Irish were a few plays away from being crowned the national champions.

One thing Freeman continues to emphasize is that everything starts with team success. His mantra seemed to have worked for a few of the staff coaches, helping them land excellent opportunities in the NFL. Notre Dame’s defensive run-game coordinator and linebackers coach, Al Washington, left for the Miami Dolphins. Notre Dame’s defensive backs coach, Mike Mickens, also left the Fighting Irish for the opportunity to join Baltimore.

“We’ve had some coaches get opportunities to go coach in the NFL, and I’m happy for them, but if we weren’t having team success, if we didn’t win those last 10 games, then their name or nobody else’s name would be floating around here,” he said.

For now, we are going to see more of Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame. The program needs his leadership after what happened at the end of last season.

How is Notre Dame looking so far ahead of the 2026 season?

Notre Dame reached the national championship game in 2024 but fell short last season. But that wasn’t all their doing. The Irish still feel they were robbed of a CFP appearance by the committee. After wrapping up 2026 spring practice, the focus is clear: get back to the College Football Playoff. Freeman opened up about what’s been happening behind the doors and how the team is looking so far.

“It’s a talented group, and we’ve got work to do. They put in 15 really good spring practices. But before that, we had eight strong, solid weeks of winter conditioning and strength and conditioning, and that’s something we haven’t had before. And so to have eight solid weeks to look at them physically get bigger and stronger, to have our ability to have football school,” said Freeman.

“So, you know, mentally they’re on a different level. The foundation is higher. We have a ways to go, but with both coordinators back, our special teams coordinators back, our starting quarterback, we got a lot of production that is back, the foundation is higher, but the work still needs to be put in, right? We’ve got a ways to go till we get to game one,” said Freeman.

The Irish will be without their two stars in the offensive backfield, but Freeman has added some offensive firepower to support CJ Carr. Unlike last year, when they started the season with games against Miami and Texas A&M, the 2026 schedule looks easier on paper.