NFL Rumors: Two Interesting NFL Teams Emerging As Early Front-Runners To Land Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
There are already two NFL teams being linked to Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.
In a controversial move by the College Football Playoff committee, the Fighting Irish were excluded from the 12-team playoff bracket. After dropping their first two games, Notre Dame closed out the season on a 10-game winning streak.
After missing out on the CFP tournament, Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame announced that they withdrew their name from bowl game consideration. That means their season ends at 10-2, one year after losing to Ohio State in the national championship game.
Now, let the Marcus Freeman-related NFL rumors commence.
As noted by Mike Florio or Pro Football Talk, NFL teams can now interview Freeman with Notre Dame’s season over. Florio also floated the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans as possible landing spots:
“Here’s the reality: Teams with vacancies are permitted to interview him now (if they haven’t already).
Those teams are the Titans and Giants. There’s no requirement for those teams to announce or even to disclose that they have interviewed Freeman…
Whether Freeman would be interested in the Titans or the Giants is unknown. Both teams have been dysfunctional in recent years, with revolving doors and chronic struggles. It could be a hard sell to get Freeman interested in either job.”
The Titans made Brian Callahan the first coach fired in 2025 after losing five of their first six games. Less than a month later, the Giants fired Brian Daboll after a 2-8 start, ending his four years at the helm.
Which Other Teams Could Target Marcus Freeman If He Enters NFL HC Hiring Cycle?
It remains to be seen if Freeman will actually enter the NFL hiring cycle. If he does, there should be considerable interest in a coach who’s gone 43-12-0 in five seasons at Notre Dame.
Currently, the Giants and Titans don’t offer much beyond young quarterbacks with high upside. The Atlanta Falcons should seek a new head coach after this season. Freeman could be more interested in Atlanta, given the greater amount of talent on their roster.
The Arizona Cardinals could cut ties with both Kyler Murray and Jonathan Gannon after this season. Could Freeman and Arizona have a mutual interest, especially if he gets to pick his quarterback?
If the Cincinnati Bengals fire Zac Taylor, Freeman could find it hard to pass up on the chance to coach Joe Burrow.
