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Sources: Marcus Freeman Spurns NFL Interest to Remain at Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish head coach received a restructured contract with “top tier” compensation after a high degree of interest from the pro ranks.

Pat Forde

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman agreed to a restructured contract to remain at the school.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman agreed to a restructured contract to remain at the school. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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In a massive win for Notre Dame and college football as a whole, Marcus Freeman has turned down multiple NFL head coaching opportunities to remain with the Irish. On Monday morning, Freeman informed two NFL franchises that had been in communication with him about their jobs that he was staying at Notre Dame, sources tell Sports Illustrated.

Notre Dame confirmed that Freeman has agreed to a restructured contract. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but his compensation is in the “top tier” of college coaches, a source says. Freeman signed a six-year contract last year, and this revised agreement adds one more year to the end, extending him through 2031.

Despite the high degree of interest from the NFL, sources with knowledge of the situation said Freeman’s decision came down to trusting the leadership alignment at Notre Dame, the experience of working with college-age athletes and the desire to make a run at a championship in 2026.

A year after going 14–2 and playing in the national championship game, the Irish were a controversial exclusion from the College Football Playoff. They finished 10–2, with both losses coming to playoff teams (Miami and Texas A&M) by a total of four points.

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Despite some early entries to the NFL, they should have a loaded roster for next season—the defense was very young, and 2026 will mark the first time in his Notre Dame tenure that Freeman has a returning starting quarterback in CJ Carr. The Irish also landed a consensus top-five recruiting class in the December signing period. They will carry a 10-game winning streak into next season.

After being the surprising choice to replace Brian Kelly in late 2021, Freeman quickly won over the Notre Dame community and has become arguably the most accomplished coach in the sport under the age of 40. 

The 39-year-old has a 43–12 record as coach of the Irish, with a second straight top 10 finish probable. His .782 winning percentage ranks sixth in school history. He is fourth—behind legends Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian—among those who coached at least 50 games at the school. He went 24–4 in 2024 and ’25, the most wins in school history in a two-year span.

With high-level vacancies at LSU, Florida, Michigan and Penn State, multiple college programs also inquired about Freeman’s interest, sources say. But Notre Dame’s primary competition to retain its coach came from the NFL level. The New York Giants and Tennessee Titans have current openings, with several more expected by this time next week after the regular season ends.

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Pat Forde
PAT FORDE

Pat Forde is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who covers college football and college basketball as well as the Olympics and horse racing. He cohosts the College Football Enquirer podcast and is a football analyst on the Big Ten Network. He previously worked for Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Forde has won 28 Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest awards, has been published three times in the Best American Sports Writing book series, and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and member of the Football Writers Association of America, he lives in Louisville with his wife. They have three children, all of whom were collegiate swimmers.

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