Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman's stock is at an all-time high.

After leading the Irish through the College Football Playoff and to the national championship game, Freeman is widely considered to be one of the best coaches in all of college football. And The Athletic's latest coach rankings reflect that.

Although Freeman hasn't won a national title (yet), Freeman has, according to The Athletic, made a big leap over the past year — one that has put him among the most elite coaches. Specifically, Freeman is ranked near the likes of Georgia's Kirby Smart, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, and his Notre Dame predecessor, Brian Kelly. Chris Vannini remarked that Freeman, who has moved up two tiers since last year's edition of the rankings, as well as Kelly and DeBoer have each “won big but just hasn’t gotten over the final hump.”

Freeman surely hopes to change that this year, his fourth as Notre Dame head coach. After taking over following Kelly's stunning departure for LSU in late 2021, Freeman led Notre Dame to a 9-4 record in his first season, 10-3 record in his second, and last year, he brought the Irish back to the CFP for the first time since 2020.

In Freeman's third season, ND won 14 games, including three games in the inaugural 12-team playoff, to reach the national championship, where Freeman met his alma mater, Ohio State. The result, unfortunately for the Irish faithful, went to the Buckeyes, but it marked the first time in more than a decade that Notre Dame even made it to the final game of the season. The last time before then was a 42-14 shellacking by Alabama in 2013, which technically doesn't exist in the NCAA record books since the 2012 and 2013 seasons for ND were vacated for using ineligible players.

Naturally, Notre Dame is expected to be a contender again this year, although the path does not get any easier. The Irish start off the season playing at Miami before hosting Texas A&M and Purdue. Following a trip to Arkansas and home games vs. Boise State and NC State, Notre Dame plays USC in the first of many consecutive rivalry games. ND then plays at Boston College, vs. Navy, at Pittsburgh, vs. Syracuse, and finishes the regular season at Stanford.

The season opens on Sunday, Aug. 31, for Notre Dame.

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