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adam ritenberg
After an abrupt end to the 2025 season and a winter filled with headlines about coach Marcus Freeman and his Notre Dame In the program, the Fighting Irish have a theme for 2026: Leave no doubt.
Nearly a year after playing for a national title and 47 days after Notre Dame’s last game, Freeman outlined the team’s mantra as it completely turns the page for 2026. Despite 10 consecutive double-digit wins to end the 2025 season, Notre Dame was eliminated from the College Football Playoff and subsequently eliminated from the Pop-Tarts Bowl invitation.
Since then, athletic director Pete Bevacqua has feuded with the ACC over social media posts, the Irish and usc Suspended their long-running rivalry series, Freeman’s name frequently came up for an NFL coaching position and no charges were filed against the Notre Dame coach due to an incident with him at his son’s wrestling match.
Freeman on Wednesday called the CFB snub “obviously disappointing,” but not one to dwell on. The Irish entered the final rankings at No. 10 but dropped one place. miamiwhich defeated Notre Dame in the season opener, was included in the field. will face miami Indiana in the national championship game next Monday.
“As I reminded the group in our team meeting on Sunday, it’s our responsibility to make sure we leave no doubt and moving forward, we can’t put the blame on anyone else,” Freeman said. “Although we may be, I too, may be confused about some of the criteria [CFP] The ranking committee and all those different things, that’s our job as we move forward to make sure we have no doubts.”
Freeman ended, at least for now, doubt about his career plans after being mentioned as an NFL coaching candidate, even as sources told ESPN he received an advanced contract from Notre Dame, and he posted about his return on social media last month. Freeman, who turns 40 on Sunday, is 43-12 in four seasons as Notre Dame’s coach.
“I’m the head coach at Notre Dame,” he said. “Individual success, NFL interest, those are all reflections of the team’s success and where this program is at. … I don’t control the noise, but I know what the noise is in my head and where my focus is.”
Freeman said he used the NFL’s interest to meet with general managers and executives to see what they look for in strong head coaches. He was a fifth-round draft pick Ohio State in 2009 but entered college coaching the following year and never coached in the NFL.
When Freeman was asked if he would like to be an NFL head coach, he said, “I’ve never done it, I don’t know enough about it.” “Maybe sometime in the future if it’s the right time and I feel like it’s right for me, maybe I’ll pursue it. But I don’t like to waste time thinking about things that aren’t in front of me.”
Freeman thanked Notre Dame for supporting him following a wrestling tournament incident, where a local high school assistant coach alleged that Freeman pushed him near the gym door. Freeman’s son, Vinnie, was attending the event.
The Mishawaka (Indiana) Police Department investigated the incident after coach Chris Fleger filed a report accusing Freeman of assault. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that the video evidence “does not support” Fleger’s claim although the touching was likely unintentional.
“I and my family have been unnecessarily dragged through the mud with clickbait headlines,” Freeman said. “The reality is that I behaved honorably and professionally while protecting my family and that’s the only title that should have been there.”
Freeman also considered the decision to put the Notre Dame-USC series on hold for at least the 2026 and 2027 seasons, but possibly longer. Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, speaking last month, blamed Notre Dame for not following through on its pledge to play “anytime and anywhere.” USC wanted to move the game early in its season, more in line with other major non-league contests played by Big Ten teams.
Apart from 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic limited sports across the country, Notre Dame and USC have met annually since 1946 and 96 times since 1926.
“I’m a competitive person and I want to go and play anytime, anywhere, but at the same time, it’s important that I make decisions that are best for the program,” Freeman said. “Moving a game we were pretty sure was going to be week 12 to week zero is not what’s best for our program. … I don’t blame them, right? They had to make decisions, we had to make decisions, and so blame me. [if you’d like]”
Freeman hopes the rivalry can resume soon. Notre Dame replaces USC with Big 12 runner-up BYU on the 2026 (and 2027) schedule, which he hopes can help the Irish return to the CFP and capture their first national title since 1988.
“We have to leave no doubt what a good team we are going into 2026,” he said. “I hate to look so far down the road, but again, it’s our job to make sure we’re mindful of what we need to do to reach our goals.”
