Marcus Freeman finds himself in a tough position with his defense. After their defensive back coach, Mike Mickens, moved to the Baltimore Ravens, the team needs to find their next defensive leader ahead of the spring game. Now, ten coaches emerge as a perfect fit for the system.

Mike Mickens was Notre Dame’s cornerback coach from 2020 to 2022 and was promoted to defensive back coach and defensive pass game coordinator in 2023. He helped them construct one of the best secondaries in college football while working under DC AI Golden. He developed wide receiver Xavier Watts, who played defensive back at the college level, into a two-time All-American during the 2023 season. So, replacing someone like him is a tough task.

Notre Dame now evaluates 10 potential candidates to fill Mickens’s role. First up in the list is Jeff Burris, who is a former Notre Dame cornerback from 1990-93. He played in the NFL for a decade before starting his coaching career at Fishers High School in Indiana in 2007. He later worked at UMass, and then he came to Notre Dame as an analyst. He also brings in extensive NFL experience working with the Miami Dolphins as an assistant defensive backs coach.

Apart from them, he also worked at Northern Iowa, Louisiana Tech, and Louisiana, and for the New York Giants as a cornerback coach. But now he is not retained by the new Giants head coach, John Harbaugh.

Then there’s Robert Steeples, who coached current Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray in high school and then moved to the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant special teams coach. He later coached cornerbacks at LSU and served as a senior offensive analyst at Iowa State. Most recently, he signed as a cornerback coach at Wisconsin in 2026. So, if Marcus Freeman and his team want him, they can lure him with a high-paying offer.

Apart from Steeples, Kerry Coombs, who’s Michigan’s special teams coordinator, also emerges as a strong candidate to replace Mickens. He worked with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash at Ohio State, winning a national championship in 2014. Then he gained experience at Ohio State and Cincinnati. His extensive experience strengthens his case.

Jay Valai is also another option for Marcus Freeman’s team. He is going into his sixth season as Oklahoma’s cornerback coach and co-defensive coordinator. Now, there’s no reason for him to leave the team, but if Notre Dame can offer him big money, then he might make a case. Just like they did with running back coach Ja’Juan Seider from Penn State.

Matt Guerrieri is also another lucrative option for Marcus Freeman and the team. He played defensive back for Davidson from 2007 to 2010. He worked at Duke as a graduate assistant and later became a safety and confidential coordinator. Currently, he serves as Ohio State’s safeties coach and defensive passing game coordinator at Ohio State. So, it all depends on his interest in making a move.

The other five in the list are North Texas Nickel and linebackers coach Jordan Malone, Maryland’s co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, Wake Forest’s defensive backs coach Chevis Jackson, Pitt’s cornerback coach Archie Collins, and Temple’s pass game coordinator and cornerback coach Henry Baker.

This choice comes at a very crucial point when the team is already going through a tough time.

Marcus Freeman finds himself in the centre of backlash

Notre Dame already had a tough season in 2025 after the CFP chose Miami for the playoffs as the last team to get in. If Miami had not made it, the entire ACC would not have been represented.  As this discussion went  on the First Take podcast, former NFL MVP Cam Newton took a direct shot at Marcus Freeman for his decision to stay out of the conference and get preferential treatment from the committee.

“Notre Dame hasn’t been relevant in years. They were just in the national championship game one year ago.” Cam Newton said on First Take. “You take that one national championship with coach Freeman out of the equation; they haven’t been relevant for years.”

Despite Marcus Freeman taking them into the playoff final in 2024, Newton doesn’t buy their hype anymore. Plus, with this season, they will get a guaranteed spot in the playoffs if they finish ranked in the top 12. This backs Newton’s remarks even more. With staff retention on the line and constant backlash, let’s see how Freeman and his team step up.

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