Windy City Gridiron
The Notre Dame head coach has led his team to a national championship berth for the first time since 2012.
The Chicago Bears apparently have their eyes on one of college football’s hottest coaches for their head coaching vacancy.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported Sunday that the Bears want to interview Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, who has just led the Fighting Irish to the College Football National Championship against his alma mater Ohio State.
According to Pelissero, the Bears have done “extensive research for months” on the 39-year-old coach, who played inside linebacker for the Buckeyes and was actually a fifth-round pick of the Bears from the 2009 NFL Draft. He was cut before the season and never appeared in an NFL game.
Just to be clear, you can file this one under “not going to happen,” Bears fans.
Freeman, who owns a 33-9 record through four seasons at Notre Dame after taking over for Brian Kelly, just signed a new four-year contract extension, locking him in for the next six seasons in South Bend and ostensibly making him one of college football’s highest-paid coaches.
Combine that with the Irish’s ascending program and recent success, and it’s hard to believe he would jump ship for the rudder-less Chicago Bears at this moment.
That said, Pelissero hinted Freeman might have NFL interest down the line, and it’s understandable why the Bears would be interested in him. A former defensive coordinator under Kelly, Freeman took over a Notre Dame program that was stuck in the mud and has turned them into a physical, resilient team capable of beating powerhouse programs like Georgia and Penn State on the way to the national championship.
His ties to the Bears, experience in NFL training camps, and obvious talent for program-building would be a welcome change of pace for a team lacking an identity.
It’s just not going to happen right now.
