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.
CLICK HERE for the 1am Tuesday update. CLICK HERE to the Tuesday 3:30 pm update.
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
Wednesday, Dec. 1
— From everything I'm hearing, today is potentially a huge one for this Notre Dame coaching search. As we've reported, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman's interest from other programs is heating up, and if the Fighting Irish want him to lead their program, today might be the day that it's reported that he will get the job.
— I reported yesterday that Freeman will meet with Jack Swarbrick today, and The Athletic had the scoop that Tommy Rees will meet with him too, adding that Rees' desire is to stay in South Bend. Here's my take on this whole situation after talking to various sources and reading in-between the lines: If Notre Dame can "keep the band together" with the major players on staff, then I believe the job is Freeman's.
— As so many have said, Notre Dame is in a place where the program is stable. It doesn't need an overhaul, which is why someone like Freeman makes sense. He knows and loves the culture Brian Kelly built with this football team. From where I sit, strength coach Matt Balis, defensive line coach Mike Elston, Freeman and Rees are such key figures in this. Notre Dame wants to keep these guys. And if Freeman does get the job, look for him to keep most of the staff on both sides of the ball intact.
— If not Freeman, then Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell would be the betting favorite.
— Moving to recruiting, it's been interesting to track which coaches have been on the road and which haven't. On the offensive side, Lance Taylor, Del Alexander and John McNulty have been seeing recruits all week. I'm told Tommy Rees has not been on the road. Jeff Quinn was expected to see his 2022 OL commits but I haven't confirmed if he's been on the road since the Kelly news broke.
— Defensively, Mike Elston and Marcus Freeman visited DE commit Tyson Ford on Sunday. Then Elston was in the Northeast on Monday, but he cancelled a visit with DE pledge AIden Gobaira for Tuesday. Freeman hasn't been on the road since Monday late afternoon when he was with linebacker commit Nolan Ziegler. I believe Chris O'Leary and Mike Mickens have been business as usual on the road.
— Brian Polian was going to have lunch with Jaden Mickey yesterday but cancelled it. To my knowledge, he hasn't been on the road since the Monday in-home visit with Tobias Merriweather, which Tommy Rees, Brian Kelly and Del Alexander were also a part of. That visit ended literally right before the BK to LSU news broke.
— As far as individual recruitments go, we're just not going to have clarity until we know who Notre Dame's head coach is and who many of the assistants are. National Signing Day is in two weeks, so you'd hope Notre Dame gets a new coach in as soon as possible.
CLICK HERE for the 1am Tuesday update. CLICK HERE to the Tuesday 3:30 pm update.
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
Wednesday, Dec. 1
— From everything I'm hearing, today is potentially a huge one for this Notre Dame coaching search. As we've reported, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman's interest from other programs is heating up, and if the Fighting Irish want him to lead their program, today might be the day that it's reported that he will get the job.
— I reported yesterday that Freeman will meet with Jack Swarbrick today, and The Athletic had the scoop that Tommy Rees will meet with him too, adding that Rees' desire is to stay in South Bend. Here's my take on this whole situation after talking to various sources and reading in-between the lines: If Notre Dame can "keep the band together" with the major players on staff, then I believe the job is Freeman's.
— As so many have said, Notre Dame is in a place where the program is stable. It doesn't need an overhaul, which is why someone like Freeman makes sense. He knows and loves the culture Brian Kelly built with this football team. From where I sit, strength coach Matt Balis, defensive line coach Mike Elston, Freeman and Rees are such key figures in this. Notre Dame wants to keep these guys. And if Freeman does get the job, look for him to keep most of the staff on both sides of the ball intact.
— If not Freeman, then Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell would be the betting favorite.
— Moving to recruiting, it's been interesting to track which coaches have been on the road and which haven't. On the offensive side, Lance Taylor, Del Alexander and John McNulty have been seeing recruits all week. I'm told Tommy Rees has not been on the road. Jeff Quinn was expected to see his 2022 OL commits but I haven't confirmed if he's been on the road since the Kelly news broke.
— Defensively, Mike Elston and Marcus Freeman visited DE commit Tyson Ford on Sunday. Then Elston was in the Northeast on Monday, but he cancelled a visit with DE pledge AIden Gobaira for Tuesday. Freeman hasn't been on the road since Monday late afternoon when he was with linebacker commit Nolan Ziegler. I believe Chris O'Leary and Mike Mickens have been business as usual on the road.
— Brian Polian was going to have lunch with Jaden Mickey yesterday but cancelled it. To my knowledge, he hasn't been on the road since the Monday in-home visit with Tobias Merriweather, which Tommy Rees, Brian Kelly and Del Alexander were also a part of. That visit ended literally right before the BK to LSU news broke.
— As far as individual recruitments go, we're just not going to have clarity until we know who Notre Dame's head coach is and who many of the assistants are. National Signing Day is in two weeks, so you'd hope Notre Dame gets a new coach in as soon as possible.
