The NFL Team That Would Make Tons of Sense for Marcus Freeman

It's been 15 years since I've seen my favorite NFL team win a playoff game so after I wiped the cobwebs out of my eyes Sunday morning and got to catching up on Notre Dame Land, I certainly wasn't thinking there would be much involving Marcus Freeman to discuss.

As it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Freeman may have turned 40 on Saturday, but it was anything but a chill weekend as the Fighting Irish head coach had to deal with off-the-field drama centered around a recent wrestling tournament his son participated in.

On top of that though, despite Freeman recently announcing that he was staying away from the NFL and returning to Notre Dame in 2026, the rumors are still swirling.

NFL Teams Still Pursuing Marcus Freeman According to Report

Freeman somewhat recently announced that he would "run it back" at Notre Dame in 2026, after reports of the New York Giants pursuing him to make the leap to the NFL.

It took all of roughly a week as only more teams have apparently become interested according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

NFL teams have "ignored" Marcus Freeman's post about returning to Notre Dame next season, per @RapSheet.

Interested teams still believe there's a chance Freeman makes a move to the NFL and would not put him through the interview process. pic.twitter.com/QcnJJDUyUv
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 11, 2026

The interesting part of Rapoport doing this on Sunday morning, just a week or so after Freeman himself shot down the NFL worries for now, is based off what happened Saturday night.

For those who didn't stay up for it, the Chicago Bears had an epic 18-point comeback victory to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card round. For the Packers, that's the fifth loss in a row. Deserved or not, there are rumblings of whether or not head coach Matt LeFleur will be retained.

After winning 13 games each season from 2019 to 2021, the Packers have managed to win more than nine just once since, and have just one playoff victory over the past four seasons.

The outcome of LeFleur's future would certainly have the potential to make things interesting regarding Marcus Freeman.

Why the Green Bay Packers Would Make Sense for Marcus Freeman

I don't look at Marcus Freeman and think he's going to stay at Notre Dame forever, but I also don't think he's in a rush to leave South Bend,. If he were to leave Notre Dame, it'd almost certainly be for the NFL, but he's smart enough to not go just anywhere to get a job.

Instead, he'd go to a highly sought after opening that includes a strong roster and proven NFL quarterback.

If you know anything about the NFL, then you know Green Bay currently fits that description, so if you're a Notre Dame fan, that's what makes Saturday night's Green Bay Packers loss that much more interesting.

If the Packers are to move on from LeFleur, this would be a job that would make sense for Freeman to be interested in.

The Packers already have a proven starting quarterback in Jordan Love. It also has a very good roster that is set to get All-World defender Micah Parsons back from injury next season.

To put it in simple terms: open NFL head coaching jobs are almost never as set up for success as this one would be. If Freeman had any interest in any NFL head coaching opening this off-season, Green Bay would trump the chances he'd have at having major success than any.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

I won't pretend to know what Marcus Freeman is thinking regarding the NFL, and I don't know if the Packers would even be interested in him.

All I know is that if you've got options as a coach, it'd be insanely difficult to look at a potential Packers opening and not like your chances of success.

Wherever Marcus Freeman goes after Notre Dame, whenever that might be, a strong foundation will be a requirement to land his coaching talents - and the Packers clearly already have that.

If you're a Notre Dame fan, it would probably be in your best interest to root for the Packers to retain LeFluer, just to be safe.