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Notre Dame football: Who could be the next Irish head coach?

By Daniel Morrison

CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 14: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on from the sideline during the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on November 14, 2020 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 14: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on from the sideline during the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on November 14, 2020 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football
Sep 18, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Football head coach Brian Kelly leaves the field after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. The win was his 105th as Notre Dame coach and tied Kelly for most wins at Notre Dame with Knute Rockne. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame football, sooner or later, is going to need to replace Brian Kelly. Who should their next head coach be? Here are a few good candidates.

It didn’t get enough attention when Brian Kelly implied that Marcus Freeman was going to be the next head coach for Notre Dame football. Now, that may not have been what he meant. Kelly, in fact, likely meant that Freeman is going to be a coaching candidate around the country.

He just worded it in a way that deserved more follow-up than it ever got, including the simple question, “Is Marcus Freeman the coach in waiting at Notre Dame?”

Even if it’s not Freeman, who is going to replace Brian Kelly? Who makes sense to be the next head coach in South Bend?

Brian Kelly is now the winningest coach in Notre Dame history and based on his recent comments about who gets a statue at Notre Dame and what it takes to truly be a great Notre Dame coach, he’s probably going to coach a while longer as he tries to win a National Championship. Still, this is a difficult and draining job. Kelly is turning 60 this season. How much longer does he want to coach?

There are plenty of great and terrible options. Sometimes, a great option ends up terrible, like Scott Frost and Nebraska. Other times, a terrible option ends great, like Sam Pittman and Arkansas. For Notre Dame football, you get your choice of candidate, so it’s important to look at every possible option and be as thorough as possible in choosing a new head coach.

And, no, Urban Meyer, Hugh Freeze, and Art Briles are nowhere on this list. Let desperate schools who don’t care about what’s right or wrong hire them. Here are some good, realistic, and morally upright options:

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