Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 FEBRUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I n an impromptu breakout meeting with a small group of reporters, the man who dared hire Marcus Freeman a little more than four years ago to lead the Notre Dame football program, with- out having any previous head coaching experience, made a surprising admission. Then-Irish director of athletics Jack Swarbrick, after the main introduc- tory press conference had played out on Dec. 6, 2021, admitted he was worried. He used that exact word, in fact. And yet in the same sentence, Swarbrick bal- anced it with confidence. E s s e n t i a l l y, t h e n o w - r e t i r e d Swarbrick, whose signature hires were Freeman and predecessor Brian Kelly 12 years prior, was saying that hiring the 35-year-old Freeman was a risk. Not hiring him was a bigger one. WHAT THE GAMBLE TURNED INTO What Swarbrick didn't throw into his calculus was the thought that Free- man could be good enough at it four years later that he might outgrow Notre Dame. Or at least, NFL teams and other college programs perceived that possi- bility and were willing to test it. After careful research, per a source, Freeman answered back Dec. 29 with a four-word/one ellipsis tweet on his X ac- count — 2026 … run it back — and a well- sourced story from Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde on a restructured contract that would put the soon-to-be 40-year-old in the top tier of college coaches from a financial compensation standpoint. An independent source confirmed the reporting in Forde's piece but did not have knowledge as to whether the contract was actually extended past its previous 2030 end date or by how much if it was. Forde reported a one-year tack-on Dec. 29. The question, though, that lingers is what possibly could be the NFL allure, in particular, for a man who's such a fit at Notre Dame, has incredible harmony with and support from his administra- tion, and has the best winning percent- age as an Irish head coach (.781, 43-12) since Ara Parseghian (.836, 95-17-4) during his 11-season run from 1964-74? And what might that allure look like? BREAKING DOWN THE NFL-VS.-COLLEGE DYNAMIC The obvious answer would seem to be the recruiting grind and a trap door out of that. But the not-so-obvious an- swer came from one of Freeman's big- gest fans and a man who's lived in both worlds — the NFL and five years as head coach at Notre Dame (2005-09). Charlie Weis Sr. "Everyone thinks the pro life is easier," Weis told Blue & Gold Illustrated in a phone interview. "But you replace those recruit- ing hours with scouting hours. I think that the NFL definitely gives you a much bet- ter chance of stability, which I would have never said back when I was in it. "The reason is the transfer portal and NIL in college. Until that gets under control, college is actually worse than the NFL, because the players can leave every year. In the NFL, once you've got a guy under contract, they're under contract. They can't go anywhere. They sign a contract and that's it. "In college, you go somewhere, a year later, you don't like it, you go somewhere else. A year later, you don't like it, you go somewhere else. So, the issue is in college now, until this gets under control, you have to deal with a new team every year. Literally, it's a new team every year." Notre Dame is adding 29 recruits and likely a handful of transfer portal additions after signing a school record-tying eight scholarship transfers last offseason. The transfer portal opened for 15 days on Jan. 2. "Now, Notre Dame might be differ- ent than some schools," Weis continued, "because you might be able to keep more kids in place. More kids might stay there because of the education that is involved. But college football has become much more of a business nationally." WHAT THE NFL SEES IN FREEMAN Weis says that he texts with Freeman from time to time, and the current Irish coach always texts back, though they did not do so regarding Freeman's re- cent decision to stay put. "You can see why the NFL would be interested in him, even without him having coached at that level," Weis said. "Obviously, he's got great leadership skills and great management skills as he's evolved from a defensive coordina- tor to a head coach/CEO. "And as you evolve into that position, that's really utopia when you get to that point. One of the biggest challenges as a college head coach is chemistry. It's an overlooked quality. You have to have chemistry. "And I'm talking about with your staff, with your administration, and with your players. He seems to have chemistry with all elements, and that gives you a fighting chance." Meanwhile, not all NFL situations are created equal. There is more control for the head coach at some places than others, depending on the owner/coach relationship and the general manager/ coach relationship, and whether re- sources are being invested to the point where you really can win. "I think Marcus can get it done at Notre Dame," Weis said. "But the way that you're a college coach now with the NIL and the portal and with the transfer free-for-all that you have, tell me how that's a good job? "I want college football to get that problem fixed. I like Marcus, respect him and I believe in him." ✦ Freeman owns the best winning percentage (.781, 43-12 from 2022-25) as an Irish head coach since Ara Parseghian (.836, 95-17-4 from 1964-74). PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Why Notre Dame Still Fits Marcus Freeman Eric Hansen covers Notre Dame athletics for On3, with a focus on Irish football. He can be reached on X @ EHansenND THE DEEP READ ERIC HANSEN