Marcus Freeman makes strong admission amid calls to leave Notre Dame

Notre Dame enters at Week 13 with an 8-2 record, sitting No. 9 in the AP Top 25 and on track for a second straight College Football Playoff appearance.

The 2025 Fighting Irish are averaging 38.5 points per game (eighth in the FBS), while allowing just 18.4 points per game; a 20.1-point differential that ranks sixth in the country.

While junior RB Jeremiyah Love (1,135 rushing yards and 14 rushing TDs) continues to garner national attention, starting QB C.J. Carr has emerged rapidly as one of the top quarterbacks in college football.

Across 10 games, Carr has 2,487 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions, completing 67.3% of his passes with a 170.9 passer rating (fourth in the nation).

On Monday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, whose name has recently circulated as a candidate for several notable head coaching positions, spoke about his relationship with the freshman quarterback.

"I've often said I doubt that there’s anybody else who emulates or understands what the position of the head coach at Notre Dame is than the starting quarterback at Notre Dame. I've kind of made it a habit of mine to meet with the starting quarterback.”

"During the season, we meet on Sundays. For me, I like that time. We're intentional about it. We talk about the game. We talk about life. We talk about family. It gives me a chance to just talk to somebody.”

“My wife, a lot of times, she's asleep when I get home, so I don't have anybody to talk to sometimes,” Freeman added.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman (right) leads the team onto the field to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Now in his fifth season as head coach at Notre Dame, Freeman has a career coaching record of 41-12, including what could be his third straight double-digit win season, all at just 39 years old.

That’s why Freeman’s name has repeatedly surfaced in both college and NFL coaching rumors as more positions have opened up over the last few months.

He was publicly linked to major college openings (notably Florida and Penn State) earlier in the cycle and even with NFL openings such as the New York Giants, who recently fired Brian Daboll on November 10.

However, Pete Sampson for The Athletic reported on October 27 that while athletic directors at Penn State and Florida had each “put in calls,” Freeman’s representation gave them a firm “no.”

Coupled with his comments about purposeful Sunday meetings with Carr, this points to the close relationships he’s built in South Bend, potentially implying he intends to stay put.

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