Marcus Freeman Listened to NFL Offers. They Just Made Him More Certain About Notre Dame.

Marcus Freeman had NFL teams calling. He picked up the phone. And then he decided he didn’t need to go any further.

The Notre Dame head coach confirmed this week that he talked to multiple NFL organizations about their openings this offseason, including the New York Giants. But those conversations didn’t lead to interviews. They led to clarity.

Freeman explained his thinking on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast. He said he was genuinely curious about what NFL teams wanted and what they thought success looked like at that level. But the more he listened, the more he realized he already had what he was looking for.

“I listened, I was intrigued by what the opportunity would be like in the NFL, and ultimately I declined to interview anywhere because I needed to hear those things and talk to those teams to know I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” Freeman said. “I wanted to talk to a couple of teams just to say, ‘Ok, what are you looking for? What do you think is successful in the NFL?’ It gave me an opportunity to sit down with my wife and think and pray and talk about it and say, ‘We’re right where we need to be.'”

Freeman wants to retire as a Fighting Irish

It’s one thing to say you’re happy. It’s another to say you want to retire at a place. Freeman said both.

“I’m as happy and really fulfilled in the position that I hold. As I think about my future, the only way I think about is I want to retire one day from (Notre Dame),” he said. “But this is such a special place, I plan on being here a long time.”

That’s the kind of statement that quiets speculation. At least for now. Freeman has led Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff multiple times, including a national title game appearance in 2024. That kind of success gets attention. The Giants sniffed around. Other teams did too. But Freeman didn’t bite.

The Irish missed the playoff last season, which only raises the stakes for 2026. Quarterback CJ Carr is back and drawing serious NFL buzz. The defense, led by Leonard Moore, should be elite again. If Notre Dame makes another deep run, Freeman’s name will almost certainly be in the mix for NFL jobs again in 2027. But for now, he’s betting on what he built.

And he’s betting it’s enough.