While Notre Dame football fans have worried about the Irish making the playoffs this year, there's also been a constant drumbeat of concern about whether head coach Marcus Freeman might leave for another job. The most recent rumors have him as a potential top candidate for the New York Giants.
Freeman has talked about other job offers this season quite a bit. Earlier this week, he addressed it again in a way he hoped would put the questions to bed. While those questions aren't going away, it was at least an insight into how he talks to his Irish players about the rumors and keeps them focused on getting back to the National Championship Game.
"What’s the noise you’re putting in your head?" The Notre Dame coach said. "Just because the noise in somebody else’s head is one thing, doesn't mean it has to be your noise."
Marcus Freeman addressed how he handles Notre Dame football rumors
In other words, the Irish players should do whatever they can to keep talk about Freeman going somewhere else out of their mind. They should focus instead on what they can control, and that's winning the rest of their games and making the playoffs.
"And so, as I told them," Freeman continued. "I’m sure I’ve said before, like just because somebody else might be saying my name’s up for whatever job or being considered, that isn’t the noise that I’m going to put in my head or I need, that ain’t my noise."
The question, of course, is whether Marcus Freeman can really keep that outside noise out of the heads of his Notre Dame players. They've spent the entire season hearing about potential other jobs. He hasn't done a particularly good job defusing them. As the Giants' job talk gets louder, it will be interesting to see if they're still able to ignore it.