Wild Coaching Carousel Proves Notre Dame Lucky to Have Marcus Freeman

CFB programs are losing patience, it's win or go away. If that wasn't obvious entering the weekend, it was after LSU canned Brian Kelly on Sunday night.

Just beyond the halfway point of the 2025 college football season, the storylines off the field seem to be grabbing more attention and creating more drama than the actual play on the field. In-season firings and rumblings of many more that could take place as soon as it ends at some big-time programs will dominate the headlines for months to come.

This season could produce head coaching openings at Penn State, LSU, Florida, UCLA, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Florida State, Auburn, Colorado, Michigan State, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and possibly more to come.

This number of open jobs, combined with the expanded playoff calendar, is about to create some serious instability, chaos, and uncertainty around the country. Once the dominoes start falling, there will be a ripple effect of teams that must backfill entire coaching staffs quickly with not enough "proven" options to go around.

Obviously, around this part of the internet, Brian Kelly's firing from LSU is the headliner. His failure at LSU was predictable from the beginning to anyone who actually understands who Kelly is and how he operates. He was never the right fit at LSU culturally, personally, or work ethic-wise, not to mention the on-field results, and finally, LSU's leadership has come to this realization.

Brian Kelly really wanted everyone to believe that Notre Dame was holding him back. He's getting beat again and again in big games at LSU, screaming and stomping around the sidelines, all while Marcus Freeman elevates the Fighting Irish well beyond his predecessor. pic.twitter.com/UvrtbhFN3W
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 26, 2025

Notre Dame fans are grateful for Marcus Freeman

In the midst of all of the current and upcoming uncertainty in the world of college football coaching, Notre Dame fans feel very fortunate to have a head coach that they respect, that respects them, and that wants to be in South Bend. In a dark bit of irony, Brian Kelly, the guy getting ripped on from every corner of the internet currently, deserves credit for bringing Freeman into the Irish ecosystem to begin with when he was hired as Kelly's DC before taking on the head role.

While Freeman's name will and should pop up in relation to some high-profile openings, the Ohio State job is the only one on my radar that Irish fans may have to worry about moving forward. For now, it sure feels like Marcus Freeman is all in on getting the Irish program over the hump and producing Notre Dame's first title since 1988.

There are going to be some very uncomfortable institutions and fanbases caught up in the mega coaching shuffle for months to come. I'm just glad Notre Dame isn't one of them.