Following the abrupt departure of longtime head coach Brian Kelly, Notre Dame may have found its next leader.
The Irish are expected to offer defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman the head coaching position, according to SI's Ross Dellenger.
Per Dellenger, the offer has not yet been finalized, but it is expected to come in the next few days. An official announcement could come as early as this weekend.
Freeman, 35, joined the Notre Dame staff before the 2021 season after spending the previous four years as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Cincinnati. Before that, he was the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Purdue.
Notre Dame ranks 11th nationally this season in scoring defense, allowing 18.3 points per game. Under Freeman in 2020, Cincinnati ranked eighth in scoring defense (16.8 points per game), and was in the top 25 in that category in each season from 2018 to '20. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award given to the nation's top assistant coach in 2020.
Freeman played four seasons as a linebacker for Ohio State, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2008 and being a part of four conference championships. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2009 by the Bears, though never appeared in a game and joined the Buckeyes as a graduate assistant in 2010.
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