Thomas Hammock, leaving Northern Illinois for the Seattle Seahawks, is the twist no one saw coming from one of the most famous Notre Dame villains of the last few years. The now-former Huskies head coach is taking a job as an administrative assistant and running backs coach for the Super Bowl champion.
Hammock became well known to Notre Dame fans thanks to his Northern Illinois squad being the only team that beat Marcus Freeman and his crew until the National Title game in the 2024 season. The Huskies pulled off a massive upset win in South Bend, just a week after the Irish opened the season with an emotional win over Texas A&M.
Many thought that Notre Dame's loss could have been the beginning of the end of Freeman's run as head coach. Instead, the Irish went on a long winning streak, and he solidified himself as one of the best young coaches in the game.
Notre Dame football fans remember Thomas Hammock for his stunning upset in South Bend
Meanwhile, Hammock's career has been an interesting one since that game. After that massive upset, the Huskies lost their next two games (to Buffalo and North Carolina State) and finished 8-5. This past season, they went 3-9 with just two wins over FBS schools.
That Notre Dame went to the playoffs after the loss to Hammock's Northern Illinois team, and the revelation that Freeman talked to the now-former NIU coach about how to improve after the loss has kept him from being a real villain. Still, it's unlikely there will be too many Fighting Irish fans broken up about his exit from the head coaching ranks.