Kirk Herbstreit Explains Why He Thinks Marcus Freeman Has Made Notre Dame 'Here to Stay'

The Fighting Irish lost in the national championship game to Ohio State on Monday, but Herbstreit doesn't think Notre Dame is going anywhere.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman looks on from the sidelines during the National Championship game. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Notre Dame may have lost to Ohio State 34–23 in the national championship game on Monday night, but ESPN football analyst Kirk Herbstreit thinks this won't be the last college football fans see of the Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff in upcoming years. And that's thanks mostly in part to coach Marcus Freeman.

In just his third full season as the coach of Notre Dame, Freeman brought his team to the national championship game and the Fighting Irish proved to be strong contenders. Herbstreit argued that the team's strength won't falter any time soon as long as Freeman's still with the program.

"I'm all in on what they've done," Herbstreit said on the Pat McAfee Show. "I don't know if I've ever felt like this about Notre Dame, as far as since the Lou Houltz era. I think they're scratching the surface. I think he's [Marcus Freeman] only going to build a stronger roster, kids are drawn to him, they want to play for him, they want to play for that school. I always kind of simplify it and say he's making Notre Dame cool. ... I think this is the beginning.

"They're not going away," Herbstreit continued. "As long as he's there, they're not going anywhere."

"I think players wanna play for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame..

I think this really is just the beginning for this Notre Dame team and they're not going away..

They never stopped fighting all year long"@KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/nHRX5wXodG

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2025

Hopefully for Notre Dame fans, though, Freeman stays with the team. The Chicago Bears showed interest in him, but hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson instead. So, Freeman will likely remain with the Fighting Irish for the time being, but that interest from the NFL may have opened up a can of worms for the future if other NFL teams try to recruit him in upcoming years.

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