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Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman Addresses if He Has Interest in the NFL

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Jan 5, 2025 12:45 PM ET

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are having one of the best seasons in school history, and head coach Marcus Freeman is a big reason why.

Freeman has led Notre Dame to a school-record 13 wins this season, and the Fighting Irish are just one win away from playing for their 12th national championship and first since 1988.

But that success doesn’t come without at least some pitfalls for the school, and in this case, that comes in the form of Freeman generating a lot of buzz around the NFL with several teams looking for a new head coach.

During an appearance on “SportsCenter” on Saturday, Freeman addressed the growing speculation that he could possibly bolt South Bend for a lucrative payday in the pros after the Irish are done with the College Football Playoff.

“I don’t know when they announced it, I can’t remember, but about a week or two ago, they announced another long contract (for me) here at Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “So, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

Freeman agreed to a new multi-year contract extension through 2030 in mid-December that will bump his salary up from $7 million to $9 million per year, which would tie him with Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz as the 10th-highest paid head coach in college football.

The deal also gives Freeman access to more funds to pay his assistant coaches and retain other key staff members from leaving for jobs with other prominent programs.

It’s easy to see why Freeman is considered a rising candidate for jobs in the NFL. In three-plus seasons with Notre Dame, he’s compiled an impressive 32-9 record with three bowl wins, and he’s won nine or more games each of the last three seasons.

This year is Freeman’s first College Football Playoff appearance, and if he can lead the Fighting Irish to an Orange Bowl win over Penn State on Jan. 9, he’ll be coaching in his first-ever national championship game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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