Notre Dame football: Marcus Freeman to be named next head coach

The Notre Dame football program lost its head coach on Monday night, but on Wednesday, it was being reported that Marcus Freeman would take the helm.

Almost immediately following the news that Brian Kelly would be leaving Notre Dame football for LSU, Notre Dame fans made it clear that they though Marcus Freeman should be the next head coach at Notre Dame. It also was reported that a lot of people within the Notre Dame program itself wanted to go and promote Freeman.

Then, it was reported by Mick Assaf that Marcus Freeman will be the next head coach at Notre Dame. For those who don’t know, Assaf is a former walk-on player whose last season at Notre Dame was in 2019.

Since then, he’s gone on to found Yoke Gaming, which is an app for the NIL era that allows athletes to play video games with fans.

Of course, Assaf isn’t a reporter. It’s impossible to tell who his sources are on that tweet. However, it is interesting and not entirely unexpected to hear it. It would also be incredibly welcome news if this is true.

Assaf hosted a Twitter Space after he broke this news, which included having multiple other players come on and talk to him about the hire. Kyle Hamilton said that he thinks that Freeman would be a great hire for the team in that space.

Throughout the space, Assaf referred to his source as reliable but didn’t give any indication on who the source was.

Notre Dame football to name Freeman head coach

Then, on Wednesday, it was reported that Freeman would in fact be the next head coach, as multiple sources came forward on Twitter. This is a best-case scenario for the Irish, as Freeman is one of the brightest young stars in the coaching realm.

First, this is great for recruiting. Marcus Freeman is an elite recruiter. He’s the reason why Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class is ranked 4th in the 247 rankings. Lose him, and you lose that class of recruits. He can continue to recruit and make sure that this team builds the depth to compete at the end of the season and in postseason play. Keep him, and you can land more of these great players.

This would also help with the ease of the transition. There wouldn’t need to be a major culture shift or anything like that. He could likely hold onto some of the current staff, and the Irish would be running the same defense next season as they are this season. It’s the right hire to make.

Notre Dame football: The curious timeline of Brian Kelly’s departure

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Marcus Freeman is a great defensive mind, an amazing recruiter, a dominant personality, and one of the best people that you’re ever going to meet. If these reports are true, then this is a good thing for Notre Dame.