BREAKING: Marcus Freeman Shuts Down NFL Interest Amid Speculation
- Liam Gaudet
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Over the course of the last month or so, there had been a myriad of rumors surrounding Marcus Freeman and potential NFL head coaching jobs. Today, Freeman announced emphatically on X that he would be remaining at Notre Dame in a few simple words: "2026... run it back. Go Irish"
It wouldn't be a Notre Dame offseason without heaps of drama, and before the dust had even settled, there had been multiple reports of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman gaining interest from a few NFL teams for their vacant head coaching positions, namely the New York Giants.
Marcus Freeman had been linked to the Giants for multiple weeks, as ESPN radio had reported that Freeman was at one point "favored for the Giants HC job". NFL insider Diana Russini had also reported that Freeman was "among the names on the candidates list for the Giants head coaching vacancy".
Amidst all the speculation, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, who has been the center of attention for better or worse this offseason, remained steadfast in ensuring that Freeman would remain in South Bend to lead Notre Dame. Earlier in the offseason, Bevacqua referred to Freeman's contract with the Irish as "a living, breathing document", implying that amendments were always going to be in play to ensure Freeman would be compensated handsomely.
And despite all of the noise, Marcus Freeman is still humbled by the opportunities presented to him, while still being entirely invested in Notre Dame's football program. In an interview earlier this month, Freeman was asked about the NFL speculation. Like most of Freeman's conversations with the media, he spoke of gratitude.
"Well, I think the gratitude you have for one, even being mentioned by an organization like (the Giants), you know, I've got a lot of respect for all NFL teams, but you know, the history of the Giants is tremendous. But it's gratitude for me, it reminds me of the honor that I have to be in the position that I have, and you know, I've said that before. I use that to remind myself of the gratitude that I have for this position, because you wouldn't have said that statement if I didn't have this job and we weren't having success here. And it's a reminder for me that the people in our program, the work they put in, we all put in to have an output that has been pretty successful these past couple of years. The result of that is, you know, having your name mentioned for a place like the New York Giants or any other major program. It's humbling, but I always use it as a reminder to be grateful for what I have, because if you're not grateful for it, I often say you're going to lose it."
And after a week or two of deafening silence, Freeman finally would stomp out the rumor mill in a single tweet.
Freeman has amassed a career record of 43-12 as the head coach of Notre Dame, reaching 10 wins for the third time in four seasons in 2025. Freeman took his team to the National Title game last season after snapping Notre Dame's New Year's Six bowl drought spanning back to 1994. Freeman also finished with the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, his highest clip yet.
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