The Notre Dame Fighting Irish missed the College Football Playoff in controversial fashion and have since been dealing with rumors about the future of head coach Marcus Freeman.
While the rumors are flying around, it is not due to Freeman. He has remained committed to Notre Dame and doesn’t seem to have a plan to leave anytime soon. However, there are other teams, both in college and in the NFL, who might try to convince him to leave the Fighting Irish.
Freeman has become one of the hottest head coaching candidates in football. There is a very real chance that his name will be a hot commodity in the NFL coaching carousel following the end of the regular season.
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Keeping that in mind, the New York Giants have been heavily linked as a potential destination for Freeman. Another NFL team might emerge as an option as well, depending on what they choose to do with their current head coach.
Over the last few years, the Cleveland Browns have been a bad football team. Kevin Stefanski, the team’s head coach, has been rumored to be on the hot seat.
It’s very possible that the Browns will decide to let Stefanski run it back for another season in 2026. Should they choose to consider a change, one team analyst believes that Freeman would be worth pursuing.
ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi is interested in the idea of Freeman becoming Cleveland’s next head coach.
Stefanski has led the Browns to a 43-54 record since taking over the team back in 2020. He has done some great things with what he has had to work with. Unfortunately, the last two seasons have been horrible.
Cleveland has to figure out how to get back into playoff contention. The issues can’t be placed squarely on Stefanski’s shoulders, but there have been some issues with the team that usually come back to coaching. Quite simply, the team hasn’t seemed prepared to play many weeks.
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If the Browns do decide to part ways with Stefanski, Freeman would make sense. He’s an up-and-coming head coach and could be the long-term lead man in Cleveland. It’s just an idea, but it’s one that could make sense.
Expect to continue hearing a lot of speculation about Freeman’s future. he seems very happy at Notre Dame, but NFL teams could come calling in the very near future.
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