NCAA Basketball: Southern Methodist at Notre Dame Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman and team are honored in the first half of the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the SMU Mustangs at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman in demand at high-profile program

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Zachary Roberts | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 2:57 PM ET

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one of the best coaches in college football in Marcus Freeman. They know that, but other programs know that. Namely, a big program that just fired its coach amid a disastrous losing streak in 2025 also knows how good Freeman is. According to reports, Freeman, who is under contract for six seasons, including this one, could be desirable. He’s locked down, but that may not stop one school.

Penn State expected to go hard for Notre Dame coach

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish extended Marcus Freeman, according to ESPN, for six more seasons in December 2024. That doesn’t always matter in college football. Penn State just fired James Franklin not long into a 10-year extension. Now, that opening is one of the best in college football, and it could be Freeman’s job.

Per reporting from On3’s Pete Nakos, the Nittany Lions are expected to take a stab at bringing Freeman over. “Sources have told On3 that Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are not serious candidates, but Kraft plans to take a couple of big swings during the hiring process,” Nakos wrote.”One name that Kraft may make a run at is Notre Dame’s, sources have told On3. The 39-year-old head coach is 37-11 in three seasons in South Bend and took the Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoff national title game last season.”

Is this likely to actually happen? No. Freeman is well established in South Bend, and he’s got a really good thing going. Heading over to Penn State wouldn’t even be a move forward, necessarily. It might be a better program, but not by a wide margin. It might be a better school to work at, but not by a wide margin. The coach is in a really good spot. Things would have to go awry from here on out for him to consider leaving.

NCAA Football: Orange Bowl Notre Dame at Penn State Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Freeman is currently trying to get his Fighting Irish over an 0-2 start that saw them fall from within the top 10 to ranked 24th. They’re back up to the fringe of the College Football Playoff at number 13. So, unless things go terribly wrong, they will likely get back in the playoffs. That means they’l probably keep Freeman for the foreseeable future.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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