The Notre Dame football team enters the season with a No. 6 ranking in the preseason poll and fresh off a trip to the College Football Playoff national title game.
The Irish saw Riley Leonard leave for the NFL, and in turn, Notre Dame named CJ Carr as its starting quarterback. Still, Jeremiyah Love returns as one of the best running backs in the country, and head coach Marcus Freeman has had a lot of success since becoming the head coach in South Bend.
Freeman has a 33-10 record at Notre Dame and enters the season with back-to-back double-digit win campaigns.
Amid Notre Dame's run, the Chicago Bears were reportedly interested in Freeman, although they ended up hiring Ben Johnson as the head coach. Moreover, it doesn't seem that Freeman would leave Notre Dame for any other college job.
While Freeman gears up for another season in South Bend, it seems that the NFL is the only threat to him leaving the Notre Dame football program, according to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated.
“Last season did, at least, kill the young coach narrative, and Freeman has the wisps of gray in his facial hair to underscore that. But the hot NFL coach storyline has replaced it. Industry sources say Freeman has garnered interest, and the NFL could be Notre Dame’s only serious competition when it comes to keeping him in the fold for a long time. But before that even becomes a consideration, there is another title chase with another Top 10 team underway. Even with an inexperienced QB in sophomore CJ Carr, the Irish are viewed as a major contender.”
Notre Dame gave Freeman a contract extension during the CFP run that keeps him in town through the 2030 season and makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, so leaving for another college job doesn't make sense.
On the other hand, the NFL money and the opportunity to be a coach in the league could be appealing to Freeman, depending on which team calls him up.
It will be something to watch, but for now, Notre Dame is preparing to try and make another CFP run.
