Report: Chicago Bears Still Eyeing Marcus Freeman for Head Coach Opening

Despite Freeman signing a contract extension at Notre Dame, the Bears are still very interested

(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has the Fighting Irish set to play in next Monday's national championship game.

Freeman also just signed a contract extension at Notre Dame that was announced just before the Irish beat Indiana in the First Round of the College Football Playoff.

Despite this, the Chicago Bears reportedly still want to interview Freeman for their head coaching vacancy.

NFL Network Report on Chicago Bears Interest in Marcus Freeman

Before the NFL Playoffs triple header on Sunday, NFL Network's pregame show had a segment with veteran reporter Tom Pelissoro. You can see what he said about the Bears and their desire to talk to Marcus Freeman in full below.

The Bears are looking to interview Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman for their HC opening, per @TomPelissero. pic.twitter.com/fjujUFyVKW

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 12, 2025

Freeman Would be a Bears Dream Hire

I don't know how Marcus Freeman would be as an NFL head coach. Everything he's coached in his career has gotten seen the team improve so my best guess would be that he would figure that out to a decent degree as well.

Knowing how the Chicago Bears work (I covered this team for over a decade), Marcus Freeman would be the ideal candidate for them.

Since parting ways with the always quotable Mike Ditka, the Bears like to hire the button up head coach.

Dick Jauron, Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy, and Matt Eberflus all fit the mold.

Freeman would fit that mold as he's an accomplished head coach at the college level. Add to that he's a man of faith and a family man and it's the exact look the Chicago Bears organization wants in a head coach - not that any of it is bad, but none of it has anything to do with winning football games.

Freeman checks nearly every box the Bears desire plus hiring a local guy that has Freeman's level of name brand - it's a no-brainer for the organization to want as much.

A Warning to Marcus Freeman and All Potential Bears Coaches

The Chicago Bears are a loser organization.

Flat-out losers.

Think of them as being the Notre Dame of the NFL if Ara Parseghian never revived the program in the 1960's.

Jan 17, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, US; Chicago Bears chairman George H. McCaskey speaks as he introduces new Chicago Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren during the press conference at Halas Hall. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

OK, the Bears have the 1985 squad that remains as famous as any team in the history of the sport but beyond that, this is amongst the saddest franchises in American professional sports.

This is a team that has been able to finish a season with more wins than losses just nine times in the last 33 years.

The McCaskey family that owns the team remains the same that whole time.

They botched a stadium rehab almost 25 years ago, leaving Soldier Field looking like a UFO landed on top of an old piece of architecture and can't wait to trip over themselves in recent years as they look to build something new.

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman (center) speaks to the media after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Someone without any options is going to eventually say yes to Chicago Bears and end their search for their next head coach but my advice to Marcus Freeman and any potential candidate that has literally anywhere else to be a head coach next year:

Stay far, far away because a super-combination of a football version of Theo Epstein, prime Bill Belichick and a reincarnated Vince Lombardi wouldn't be enough to overcome those who are truly in charge at Halas Hall.

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