Marcus Freeman is not leaving Notre Dame, an obvious statement given it's nearly August, he's still in South Bend, and there are no open jobs in major college football or the NFL.
But, in a gathering of reports in South Bend on Tuesday, the 40-year-old head coach of the Fighting Irish affirmed his commitment to remain at Notre Dame for the long haul.
“I’m all-in. I’ve been all-in,” Freeman said, via The Athletic. “I don’t see myself being the head coach or coaching anywhere else.”
Freeman soft-launched the idea of remaining at Notre Dame until his retirement in a podcast interview earlier this month, and on Tuesday he didn't go quite that far but reiterated his desire to remain in South Bend for the foreseeable future.
“I plan on being here as long as I can,” he added. “If I do a good enough job and I’m able and wanted to be the head coach here, I want to stay the head coach here.”
Promoted to his first head coaching role after just one season as the Irish's defensive coordinator, Freeman is 43-12 as he prepares for his fifth season atop the program. Freeman has clearly grown into the job of Notre Dame Head Football Coach while working within the role -- his first full season started 0-2 with a loss to Marshall, and in 2023 the Irish dropped a game in which Ohio State scored the winning touchdown against only 10 Notre Dame defenders. In 2024, Notre Dame overcame a September loss to Northern Illinois by reaching the national title game, including a Sugar Bowl win over SEC champion Georgia in which Freeman out-coached 2-time national champion Kirby Smart.
Last year's team dropped its first two games to CFP finalist Miami and CFP participant Texas A&M by four points combined, and then won its final 10 contests by an average of 29.7 points. This year's team has an argument to begin as the AP No. 1.
Freeman has built upon the foundation Brian Kelly left behind to build the type of rosters Kelly could not. Running back Jeremiyah Love became Notre Dame's highest draft pick since 1993, and quarterback CJ Carr will likely become the program's first, first-round quarterback since Brady Quinn in 2007. Notre Dame's 2026 recruiting class was its highest-ranked since the Charlie Weis era.
For its part, Notre Dame has done everything it can to keep Freeman. The school has relaxed its standards to help Freeman accept undergraduate transfers and re-classified high school players, is set to open a brand new training facility, and has annually reworked his contract to take his salary up to a reported $12 million.
All that said, Freeman will remain a hot commodity in the NFL for as long as he keeps Notre Dame winning, which means he'll have to re-affirm his commitment to the Irish each winter by continuing to remain in South Bend.