College Football HQ

$54 million college football coach emerges as favorite for NFL head coaching job

Tucker Harlin|
Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman arrives at the stadium to coach the Fighting Irish against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman arrives at the stadium to coach the Fighting Irish against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

In this story:

Notre Dame Fighting IrishNew York Giants

The jump from college football to the NFL is a difficult transition for the average college football player. That jump is magnified for the average college football coach.

National champion head coaches such as Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban have left prominent college football jobs only to return after unsuccessful stints in the NFL. Coaches such as Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have succeeded in the NFL after many years in the college ranks, but the former is true for most coaches looking to make the jump.

The NFL currently has two head coaching vacancies: the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants. Among the coaches being floated around for the Giants' vacancy is Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman.

Since Notre Dame was excluded from the 2025 College Football Playoff field, Freeman's odds have spiked to become the next head coach of the Giants.

Freeman joined the Notre Dame staff as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2021. He had served in the same roles at Cincinnati in the previous four seasons.

Brian Kelly left Notre Dame to take the LSU head coaching vacancy at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Freeman was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach.

Despite a start with losses at Ohio State (21-10) and against Marshall (26-21), Freeman guided the Fighting Irish to a 10-3 season in 2022 that culminated in a 45-38 victory over South Carolina in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Fighting Irish suffered losses to Ohio State (17-14), at Louisville (33-20), and at Clemson (31-23) in 2023, but they once again reached 10 wins.

The 2024 season was an upward surge for Freeman at Notre Dame. Despite an early loss to Northern Illinois (16-14), the Fighting Irish won their other 11 games to return to the College Football Playoff for the first time in four seasons. Notre Dame took down Indiana (27-17), Georgia (23-10) and Penn State (27-24) before falling to Ohio State (34-23) in the national championship.

Should Freeman leave for the Giants, he will head to an organization that has not had the same head coach for more than four seasons since Tom Coughlin (2004-15). Ben McAdoo (2016-17), Pat Shurmur (2018-19) and Joe Judge (2020-21) each coached the Giants for about two full seasons before their terminations.

Brian Daboll was the last head coach terminated by the Giants on Nov. 10. Despite winning the NFL Coach of the Year in 2022, he finished his tenure with the Giants 20-40-1.

Published
Tucker Harlin
TUCKER HARLIN

Tucker Harlin is a passionate sports fan and journalist covering college sports. His work can be found on Vols Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and The Voice of College Football Network. He graduated from the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Tennessee in 2024 and is based in Nashville.

Share on XFollow TuckerHarlin
Home/News