Multiple NFL teams, including the New York Giants, are monitoring Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman as a potential head-coaching candidate. As a result, speculation about his jump to the pro level continues to grow. Still, from inside the Notre Dame locker room, the conversation looks very different.

“Yeah, my coach forgot I have all the trust in him and his ability to lead a team, and also his ability to connect with the players,” Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love said to New York media. “I feel like a few weeks ago, I was doing the NFL level. He was still connecting with the players, but it’s a little bit different. Those are grown men who have families. They’re not college students or anything like that. So he would definitely still connect with them very well.”

The pull of the NFL is real, and so is the money. Reports have indicated that Freeman could command an offer worth roughly $30 million at the professional level, but Jeremiyah Love says there’s a factor that money can’t buy: connection. What sets Freeman apart, Love argues, is his ability to genuinely connect with athletes which carries enormous weight in college, where players are still developing on and off the field. At the NFL level, that connection plays out differently among seasoned professionals with families and established routines, making the personal bond less central than in college.

However, Marcus Freeman has repeatedly stated his commitment to Notre Dame. Even when observers attempted to read Notre Dame’s decision to decline a bowl invitation as a possible signal of future movement, Freeman publicly dismissed all speculations. The Irish instead chose to focus on what they described as a longer-term goal: positioning themselves to win a national championship in 2026.

Well, ND’s constant effort to keep him home makes sense, as Marcus Freeman has compiled a 43-12 overall record with Notre Dame in four years, winning more than 78 percent of his games. He led them to a No. 2 national ranking and a national championship appearance last season. Even this year, they finished 10-2, positioned to get a playoff berth before getting snubbed by the committee to push Miami in.

But lurking away, Marcus Freeman won’t be that straight. As Notre Dame’s athletic director, Pete Bevacqua is ready to do whatever it takes to keep him close to South Bend.

“I would never say we wouldn’t match anything when it comes to Marcus,” Bevacqua said. “I make sure that he knows that he will be where he deserves to be, and that is at the top, top, top tier of college football coaches when it comes to compensation every year. I view his contract, although a multiyear contract, as a living, breathing document that we will revise every year as need be to make sure he’s where he deserves to be.”

But despite that, why does Freeman remain such a compelling candidate?

Why are the Giants pushing so hard for Marcus Freeman?

After facing a 2-11 season under Brian Daboll, the New York Giants are looking for the next man up. And Freeman looks like a perfect fit with his ability to connect with players and ties with former Notre Dame players. As Irish former wide receiver and Giants Beaux Collins makes a strong case for him.

“He really feels like he’s one of the guys in the locker room,” Collins said. “He doesn’t try to do too much and be younger than he is, but he still has a lot of youth to him, and that shows and goes on display every time he’s around the team.”

But for now, the Giants need more than a player-friendly coach; they need a man who can shape their defense after recent losing seasons. And knowing Marcus Freeman’s defensive background and his ability to develop defensive players like cornerback Leonard Moore, who received the highest defense grade from PFF (92.6), makes him a perfect fit.

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He has also developed players as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator, like Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant. Now, it will be interesting to see if Freeman makes this move after all!