Notre Dame football fans already knew it was time to buckle up with Florida and Penn State on the hunt for Marcus Freeman. Now that LSU is firing Brian Kelly on Sunday night, it's time to worry yet again about the Bayou Bengals.
The worst part of the timing of the firing of the LSU coach is that, for the most part, Fighting Irish fans were able to calm down a bit despite rumors of both the Nittany Lions and Gators having interest. Even if Freeman didn't totally close the door on his pursuit, he wasn't leaving for either of those jobs. Things are different with LSU since there's already been one coach leaving South Bend for Baton Rouge.
It should surprise no one at all that almost the minute that Brian Kelly was fired, Notre Dame's head coach was listed as one of the top candidates to take his job. Marcus Freeman made several lists of the top candidates for LSU, including ESPN's latest list.
LSU firing Brian Kelly reignites Notre Dame’s worst fears
If there is a bit of good news for Fighting Irish fans, even the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" doesn't seem to know whether Freeman would actually take the job.
"Would LSU successfully swipe Notre Dame's coach twice in a row? It's hard to say. Should LSU make inquiries about Freeman? Absolutely. He has established himself as one of the sport's top young coaches at just 39. Freeman is the first Notre Dame coach to win a CFP game -- three in fact -- as he guided the Fighting Irish to the national championship game last fall. He's 38-12 as Notre Dame's coach and has the team positioned for a possible CFP return if it can win out. Coincidentally, Freeman turned down LSU's defensive coordinator job with Orgeron to join Kelly at Notre Dame. Freeman has spent his entire career in his native Ohio or neighboring Indiana, and a move to the SEC could be jarring. He ultimately might target the NFL as his next step, but he would at least have to consider a top program such as LSU."
Notre Dame football fans will absolutely want to batten down the hatches as the Irish now need to prepare for a hopeful playoff run while fighting off multiple schools for Marcus Freeman.