Marcus Freeman's Near Saturday Night Live Appearance

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman during the Blue-Gold spring game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman's Near Saturday Night Live Appearance

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated May 6, 2026 12:06 AM ET

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The college football world is plenty aware of Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman, as is most of the American sports world.

Earlier this offseason, though, an entirely new audience was nearly introduced to the man trying to guide Notre Dame to it's 12th national championship: the Saturday Night Live audience.

Marcus Freeman Nearly Appeared on Saturday Night Live

As most are well aware, Shane Gillis is among the biggest things currently going on in stand-up comedy. Gillis also happens to be a diehard Notre Dame football fan.

Gillis joined the "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast and was asked about Freeman's recent appearance in Esquire Magazine.

"I thought he looked snazzy," said Gillis, "He better (explative) win!"

That led to a story of how Freeman nearly made an appearance on Saturday Night Live this past year, which Gillis said was close to actually happening.

"We were going to have him on Weekend Update. And then, something happened at the Michigan program that became the biggest story in college football so we couldn't do it - for real."

Shane Gillis almost got Marcus Freeman on SNL… but something in college football that week killed the timing pic.twitter.com/JihCpf1Ey2
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) May 6, 2026

Now to be clear, Gillis wasn't hosting this show as he last did so in March of 2025, but clearly still has connections that can get things done.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

If you're someone who has long disliked the Notre Dame football program, then Good Lord Almighty, the foreseeable future is going to be rough for you.

Notre Dame has its most loaded roster in decades and will enter 2026 on the short list of favorites to win a national championship.

With Freeman though, Notre Dame also has a coach that any media outlet would be crazy to not want to have a part of.

Whether that means more interviews on the national stage, appearances in fashion magazines, or even a seat at the Weekend Update desk on Saturday Night Live, Freeman and Notre Dame football are everywhere.

It was said as soon as Freeman was hired that Notre Dame football would soon be cool again.

Now, I'm not someone who watches SNL each week, as I haven't done that since the days of Chris Farley and Adam Sandler, but you can't argue against the optics had Freeman wound up on the show.

Honestly, when was the last time Notre Dame football was this cool? It's made appearances in pop culture, as Jason Street was supposed to go to Notre Dame on the hit TV show Friday Night Lights 20 years ago, but not since Biz Markie sang about that girl being "Just a Friend" has Notre Dame football been seen in as bright a pop culture light?

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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