Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman held a press conference with reporters on Wednesday in South Bend amid a busy week for the program in the transfer portal.
Wednesday's presser by Freeman is the unofficial start of the 2026 season for the Fighting Irish, as it's full speed ahead to spring practice.
The 40-year-old Freeman just wrapped up his fourth full season in South Bend, a year that concluded with a 10-2 record and a narrow miss of the College Football Playoff after playing in the national championship game a season ago. Freeman is 43-12 at Notre Dame, and is recognized by many as one of the top coaches in college football.
So it should be no surprise that many in NFL circles had Freeman considered as a candidate for multiple head coaching positions at the next level. Freeman will coach Notre Dame in 2026, and doesn't plan on making the jump...for now.
"I'm the head coach at Notre Dame," Freeman said on Wednesday, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "Individual success, NFL interest, those are all a reflection of team success and where this program is. ...I don't control the noise, but I know the noise that's in my head and where my focus is."
Freeman said defiantly that there wasn't an evaluation process that he considered regarding his coaching status at Notre Dame after the season.
"I don't need to come out with a statement every time one of these job openings happen," Freeman said. "Everything I want and everything that I need personally can be achieved right here."
Could Freeman coach in the NFL in the future? He didn't completely shut the door on the potential, even though he hasn't strongly considered the opportunities presented to this point.
"Do I want to be? I've never done it," Freeman added. "I don't know enough about it. Maybe sometime in the future if it's the right time and it's what I think is right for me, then maybe I'll pursue it. But I don't love wasting time thinking about things that aren't right in front of me."
Freeman's mission is to bring Notre Dame its first national championship since 1988. He was close a year ago, and he's working to get the Irish back in position in 2026.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Addresses His Stance on Interest From NFL Teams.
