The Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching search is in its infancy after Mike Tomlin stepped down from the role, and it seems the first name has already been ruled out.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has consistently told NFL teams that he will not leave the Fighting Irish to come to the NFL. That news came out immediately after the Tomlin stepped down.
Freeman had been a coach who multiple teams were interested in during the cycle, but he has made sure shut out the noise, and will have a press conference tomorrow that seems largely connected to the NFL noise.
Dianna Russini of the Athletic reported the Steelers have done preliminary work into Freeman as a candidate, but he seems to have ruled himself out.
Freeman took the Fighting Irish to the National Championship last year before they lost to Ohio State. He took over for Brian Kelly as head coach in 2021 after being their defensive coordinator for one season.
An Ohio State alum, Freeman comes from an extensive defensive background, coaching up linebackers throughout his college coaching tenure until he landed the Notre Dame head coach position.
That is the position Freeman played while at Ohio State from 2006 to 2009. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.