Hello Notre Dame fans, welcome to the rumor mill, where I’ll be compiling everything related to Brian Kelly leaving the Fighting Irish for the LSU job and who Jack Swarbrick may look to replace him with. This post will be updated often so make sure to keep it bookmarked.
This is a rumor mill. This is where you get the gossip and what the industry experts are saying.
Make sure to sign up for our newsletter/breaking news alerts so you get emailed whenever there's a new hire. CLICK HERE
*** Tuesday, Nov. 29 ***
1:00 am ET update
— First off, it is all but officially that Brian Kelly is leaving Notre Dame for LSU. He informed the team via a group message a little past 10 p.m. ET on Monday night that he was leaving the program. Here’s what his message to the team said:
“Men...Let me first apologize for the late night text and more importantly, for not being able to share the news with you in person that I will be leaving Notre Dame. I am flying back to South Bend tonight to be able to meet with you in the morning but the news broke late today and I am sorry you found out through social media or news reports. I will have more to share when we meet tomorrow at 7 a.m. but for now, just know that my love for you is limitless and I am so proud of all that you have accomplished. Our program is elite because of your hard work and commitment and I know that will continue. I will share more in the morning when we meet. Again, my sincere apologies for not being able to be the one to share the news directly with you. Coach Kelly.”
— Notre Dame sources I spoke with were stunned by this news. I asked one staffer if they was as shocked as the rest of us were by the news, and the response was, “Yep, more.” I asked what this meant for the Notre Dame assistant coaches on the road this week, and I was told, “I don’t know. Waiting for direction.” I have to wonder if the abruptness of the Lincoln Riley USC hire paved the way for Brian Kelly to do the same. This all came together very quickly and out of the blue.
— Details of Kelly’s contract with LSU, via The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna: “LSU's offer to Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is a 10-year deal that will take him north of $100 million with incentives.” I’ve heard that Kelly will be making 15 million a year at LSU, which is just insane.
— Brian Kelly, Brian Polian, Del Alexander and Tommy Rees had an in-home visit with Vancouver (Wash.) Union class of 2022 wide receiver and Notre Dame commit Tobias Merriweather on Monday. I’m told that about two minutes after Kelly walked out the door is when Pete Thamel broke the news that Kelly would be taking the LSU job. Merriweather then texted Alexander about the news to which Alexander said the news was bull crap. Again guys, Notre Dame’s staff was completely blindsided here. Oh to be a fly on the window of that car ride of the Notre Dame coaches leaving Merriweather’s house. That must have been so interesting.
— Former Notre Dame walk-on running back Mick Assaf tweeted Monday at 10:58 p.m. ET the following: “BREAKING: Per my sources, Marcus Freeman will be the next head coach at the University of Notre Dame.” I am not sure how credible of a report this is, especially considering no other major outlet is reporting this, but heck, it’s worth a note.
— From what I am hearing though, there is positive buzz that Freeman may be the hire for the Fighting Irish. I would not be surprised at all if Freeman is who Jack Swarbrick ultimately goes with. I’m told that Freeman spoke with a handful of defensive commits Monday night and essentially told them that he will either become Notre Dame’s next head coach or will follow Kelly to LSU and be the Tigers’ defensive coordinator (which is the position he passed up on to come to Notre Dame, ironically enough). The Athletic's Pete Sampson also reports that there is "momentum among decision-makers to elevate [Freeman] to head coach."
— If Freeman does get the job, I expect the majority of Notre Dame’s 2022 class to stay intact. I believe all of the defensive commits would stick with Naples (Fla.) High cornerback Devin Moore being the lone potential exception, but he was a flip candidate regardless of Brian Kelly leaving or not. I’m told that St. Louis John Burroughs’ defensive end Tyson Ford will stick with Notre Dame no matter who the coach is, which is great news. But if Freeman is gone, you can wave goodbye to Hilton Head (S.C.) High linebacker Jaylen Sneed.
— In case you missed it, click here to view our coaching hot board version 1.0.
— Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell will surely be in the mix for Notre Dame’s head coach opening. But when could that hire go down? Here’s what Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman tweeted Monday night: “There are expectations that Luke Fickell will be in the mix for this IF ND can wait out a potential Playoff run by Cincy, but right now it's Freeman (& the other ND staffers) who have been left to talk recruits off the ledge w/ the Kelly situation. And maybe coach ND in the CFP.”
— Here are the names Football Scoop listed as their candidates to know for Notre Dame: Luke Fickell, Matt Campbell (Iowa State), Dave Clawson (Wake Forest), Tommy Rees and Marcus Freeman. The report mentions that Freeman is a candidate for the Duke opening, which I can confirm to be accurate. The article also mentioned that Clawson has “some support in Irish circles.” John Harbaugh (Ravens), Matt Rhule (Panthers) and James Franklin (Penn State) were also mentioned.
This is a rumor mill. This is where you get the gossip and what the industry experts are saying.
Make sure to sign up for our newsletter/breaking news alerts so you get emailed whenever there's a new hire. CLICK HERE
*** Tuesday, Nov. 29 ***
1:00 am ET update
— First off, it is all but officially that Brian Kelly is leaving Notre Dame for LSU. He informed the team via a group message a little past 10 p.m. ET on Monday night that he was leaving the program. Here’s what his message to the team said:
“Men...Let me first apologize for the late night text and more importantly, for not being able to share the news with you in person that I will be leaving Notre Dame. I am flying back to South Bend tonight to be able to meet with you in the morning but the news broke late today and I am sorry you found out through social media or news reports. I will have more to share when we meet tomorrow at 7 a.m. but for now, just know that my love for you is limitless and I am so proud of all that you have accomplished. Our program is elite because of your hard work and commitment and I know that will continue. I will share more in the morning when we meet. Again, my sincere apologies for not being able to be the one to share the news directly with you. Coach Kelly.”
— Notre Dame sources I spoke with were stunned by this news. I asked one staffer if they was as shocked as the rest of us were by the news, and the response was, “Yep, more.” I asked what this meant for the Notre Dame assistant coaches on the road this week, and I was told, “I don’t know. Waiting for direction.” I have to wonder if the abruptness of the Lincoln Riley USC hire paved the way for Brian Kelly to do the same. This all came together very quickly and out of the blue.
— Details of Kelly’s contract with LSU, via The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna: “LSU's offer to Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is a 10-year deal that will take him north of $100 million with incentives.” I’ve heard that Kelly will be making 15 million a year at LSU, which is just insane.
— Brian Kelly, Brian Polian, Del Alexander and Tommy Rees had an in-home visit with Vancouver (Wash.) Union class of 2022 wide receiver and Notre Dame commit Tobias Merriweather on Monday. I’m told that about two minutes after Kelly walked out the door is when Pete Thamel broke the news that Kelly would be taking the LSU job. Merriweather then texted Alexander about the news to which Alexander said the news was bull crap. Again guys, Notre Dame’s staff was completely blindsided here. Oh to be a fly on the window of that car ride of the Notre Dame coaches leaving Merriweather’s house. That must have been so interesting.
— Former Notre Dame walk-on running back Mick Assaf tweeted Monday at 10:58 p.m. ET the following: “BREAKING: Per my sources, Marcus Freeman will be the next head coach at the University of Notre Dame.” I am not sure how credible of a report this is, especially considering no other major outlet is reporting this, but heck, it’s worth a note.
— From what I am hearing though, there is positive buzz that Freeman may be the hire for the Fighting Irish. I would not be surprised at all if Freeman is who Jack Swarbrick ultimately goes with. I’m told that Freeman spoke with a handful of defensive commits Monday night and essentially told them that he will either become Notre Dame’s next head coach or will follow Kelly to LSU and be the Tigers’ defensive coordinator (which is the position he passed up on to come to Notre Dame, ironically enough). The Athletic's Pete Sampson also reports that there is "momentum among decision-makers to elevate [Freeman] to head coach."
— If Freeman does get the job, I expect the majority of Notre Dame’s 2022 class to stay intact. I believe all of the defensive commits would stick with Naples (Fla.) High cornerback Devin Moore being the lone potential exception, but he was a flip candidate regardless of Brian Kelly leaving or not. I’m told that St. Louis John Burroughs’ defensive end Tyson Ford will stick with Notre Dame no matter who the coach is, which is great news. But if Freeman is gone, you can wave goodbye to Hilton Head (S.C.) High linebacker Jaylen Sneed.
— In case you missed it, click here to view our coaching hot board version 1.0.
— Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell will surely be in the mix for Notre Dame’s head coach opening. But when could that hire go down? Here’s what Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman tweeted Monday night: “There are expectations that Luke Fickell will be in the mix for this IF ND can wait out a potential Playoff run by Cincy, but right now it's Freeman (& the other ND staffers) who have been left to talk recruits off the ledge w/ the Kelly situation. And maybe coach ND in the CFP.”
— Here are the names Football Scoop listed as their candidates to know for Notre Dame: Luke Fickell, Matt Campbell (Iowa State), Dave Clawson (Wake Forest), Tommy Rees and Marcus Freeman. The report mentions that Freeman is a candidate for the Duke opening, which I can confirm to be accurate. The article also mentioned that Clawson has “some support in Irish circles.” John Harbaugh (Ravens), Matt Rhule (Panthers) and James Franklin (Penn State) were also mentioned.
