Marcus Freeman to the NFL watch season apparently never ends. The Notre Dame football team spent the first few months of its offseason hearing one rumor after another about what professional teams might come calling. The most persistent talk paired the Irish head coach with the New York Giants over and over.
The Giants eventually passed up Freeman, or were passed up by him, depending on who was telling the tale, and landed on John Harbaugh. That situation is over, but is there still a chance a team from New York (or really New Jersey) could come calling?
The Notre Dame head coach recently addressed rumors that he might eventually go to the NFL during a recent appearance on "Josh Pate’s College Football Show." In that appearance, he said that he ultimately rejected the chance to be hired by an NFL team this past winter because he "wasn’t ready to let go" of his current position. However, there's a chance the New York Jets might eventually make him an offer he can't refuse.
"With Jets head coach Aaron Glenn among those considered to be on the hottest of seats, it would not be shocking for [Freeman] to be a prime candidate," NFL insider Jason La Canfora wrote for a piece published on Tuesday.
Marcus Freeman gives Notre Dame football another NFL rumor cycle to manage
Glenn just finished his first season with the Jets and his team posted a 3-14 record. Despite the fact that New York did not exactly furnish the former Lions defensive coordinator with a ton of talent, he took the blame for another abysmal season.
It seems like the New York Jets would be exactly the wrong kind of situation for Marcus Freeman. Surely he's paid attention to the kind of circus the Jets have been the last few years. The Notre Dame coach has to know that it would be better to be at or near the top of the college football world rather than the bottom of the NFL.
At the same time, head coaches have tremendous egos and often think they can be the ones who have the secret to turning it around. It's also clear that while Freeman loves South Bend, he does feel as though the NFL is his eventual destination. He likely knows that sooner or later, if he keeps turning down offers they might stop coming.
"The New York Giants were among the teams to do significant work assessing how interested Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman would be in joining their organization over the winter," La Canfora wrote.
"They were hardly alone and were prepared to move on him if he was sufficiently interested, according to league sources, as were other organizations. And there is an expectation in front offices around the NFL that this process will begin anew in November, in an even more robust manner, especially with Freeman yet to send an overt public signal that he isn’t open to giving the NFL a try."
It's a safe bet that Notre Dame football fans will have to deal with Marcus Freeman to the NFL rumors every year. They'll also have to just be happy at the moment that he's said no every time.
Add us as a preferred source on Google