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Current job: Notre Dame head coach
NFL experience: None
Archetype: Defensive culture setter
Scheme: Attacking 4-3 defense
Coaching influence: Jim Tressel at Ohio State

Just last offseason, the Bears expressed interest in Freeman, and I’d expect the Notre Dame head coach to be the only current college football coach to garner legitimate interest in this upcoming hiring cycle. 

Before his current head coaching gig, Freeman cut his teeth as a defensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and Notre Dame, eventually becoming a Broyles Award (given to the top assistant coach) finalist in 2020 and drawing interest from the NFL as a potential position coach. Freeman is one of just a dozen FBS head coaches under age 40, and he already has a 43-12 record and a national championship game appearance on his résumé. His record of early success with the Fighting Irish (a .782 win percentage) isn’t just better than predecessor Brian Kelly’s first four years; it’s the best record since College Football Hall of Famer Ara Parseghian’s in the mid-1960s.

Freeman’s style, scheme, and philosophy scream that he’s a former linebacker from the Midwest; his teams are built on playing physical defense, with a commitment to running the ball. While he doesn’t have any NFL experience that could inform what his identity might be in the league, I would project that he’d want an NFL team to look like Sean McDermott’s Bills or the best versions of Kevin Stefanski’s Browns.

Freeman’s NFL prospects will be unique compared to the rest of the coaches on this list since he’d likely be the only coaching candidate to come from the college ranks in 2026. If a team with a current opening wanted to hire him (and he wanted to leave Notre Dame), he’d be available to interview right at the end of the NFL regular season—as Notre Dame missed the College Football Playoff and declined its bowl bid. Then, the interested NFL team would have to navigate his rumored buyout of $40 million to $50 million in order to poach him from Notre Dame, and it would hope that Freeman can hire a good enough staff to help a rebuilding team. 

That’s a tricky proposition for teams that will be looking to hire new coaches in January—and probably narrows Freeman’s options, so familiarity might help. There’s one front office that might fit the bill, and that’s the New York Giants. General manager Joe Schoen grew up near South Bend, and director of player personnel Tim McDonnell worked at Notre Dame (albeit before Freeman was hired there). If any NFL team could gather intel on Freeman’s interest and readiness for the job, it’d be this one. (But it’s also worth noting that the Giants are one of 11 NFL teams that have never hired a black head coach and were the last of the league’s 32 teams to start a black quarterback.)