Notre Dame Football Hit With Another ‘Luxury’ College Football Dilemma

Each of the last two off-seasons, we've heard rumbling of NFL teams being interested in Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman to take the same job with them. Whether its the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, or Pittsburgh Steelers, the rumors have been there, but Freeman has remained at Notre Dame.

When asked about it, Freeman usually gives a rather standard answer in which he credits the team success for being considered for such positions.

Well, that team success has grown while Freeman has remained at Notre Dame, but that doesn't mean the Fighting Irish haven't lost coaching personnel to the league.

Star defensive backs coach Mike Mickens left for the Baltimore Ravens earlier this winter while defensive line coach Al Washington departed for the Miami Dolphins. Now, a third Notre Dame assistant is reportedly headed to the NFL.

Notre Dame Assistant Strength Coach Bound for Philadelphia Eagles

According to a report from Football Scoop, assistant strength coach Fred Hale is set to depart Notre Dame for the NFL as he'll head to the Philadelphia Eagles.

As of just before 4:00 p.m. ET on February 17, Hale's biography page on the Notre Dame athletics website has been taken down, so it would appear this is certainly close to becoming official.

Hale had the fortune of filling in as Notre Dame's strength and conditioning coach for one season after Matt Balis stepped down just before the start of the 2023 season.

Despite many rumblings, current Notre Dame strength coach Loren Landlow has also been rumored to be a candidate for different NFL openings but according to the Football Scoop report, has stated his intentions to stay at Notre Dame.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

Listen, losing assistant coaches is never a fun thing, but as Freeman says, its a sign of a successful program. Hale is another name on that pile that Notre Dame has to replace this off-season, but one would figure plenty of worthy candidates will be interested in taking on his role.

The good news in all of this is where Notre Dame is losing staffers to this season. For the vast majority, its to jobs in the NFL, with Hale being the latest in that string. It's not losing assistant coaches to a rival like Michigan like we saw a few years ago with Mike Elston, or a front office member to USC, like Benedict Arnold Chad Bowen last year.

It's another speed bump for Notre Dame to have to overcome in order to put together its staff, but its about as "first world" of problem as a program can have in college football.