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Notre Dame Fighting Irish football head coach Marcus Freeman closed the door on NFL opportunities on Monday and announced he will return with the program for 2026.
Freeman made the announcement in a post on X.
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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with his players after winning an NCAA football game 36-7 against NC State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 in South Bend, Indiana. (MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“2026…run it backwards,” Freeman wrote. “Go Irish.”
Freeman’s name has been in rumors since last season after the Chicago Bears began their search for a new head coach and before they finally hired Ben Johnson. Freeman’s name was linked to the New York Giants job, as they will embark on their own head coaching search once the clock hits triple zero in their Week 18 game.
The smoke surrounding the rumors grew once Notre Dame was knocked out of the College Football Playoff and opted out of the bowl game. The NFL season has one more week left in its regular season and teams will begin making head coaching decisions very soon.
He previously spoke to Complex News about the possibility of jumping to the NFL.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman directs the team from the locker room to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Image Images)
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“Often, not all the time, but when I feel like I can turn it into a message to the players, I reach out and say, ‘Don’t let someone else’s noise become your noise.’ You don’t have to let someone else’s noise become my noise, right? And someone might say to me something: ‘Hey, your name is in the running for this job, okay?’ But that doesn’t have to be my noise. Those don’t have to be the things I think about. I need to think about the value in the moment of the opportunity we have, but also use it as a feeling of gratitude.
“First of all, I have the utmost respect for the Giants organization. You talk about the history of the NFL, what a special organization. But second, it’s also gratitude for the job that you have because you wouldn’t have said that if we sucked. So I know we’re in this position because of the people. It’s not one person. It’s because of the people.”
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman speaks during media day before the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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For now, Freeman will try to compete for a national championship again.
