There’s a history of Cincinnati influence in South Bend, including Kelly, who spent three seasons with the Bearcats before taking the Notre Dame job. A year before Kelly poached Freeman, he hired Bearcats defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, a Cincinnati alum who was a teammate of Freeman’s at Wayne High School outside of Dayton.

One of the greatest linebackers to ever play football is incredibly impressed with Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

Freeman — a surprise hire in December 2021 since he had never been a head coach when Notre Dame promoted the then-defensive coordinator after Kelly bolted for LSU — hasn’t had the same problems.

Say Marcus Freeman does take an NFL job. Who are the first calls you make to find his replacement at Notre Dame?

The Fighting Irish’s 27-24 Orange Bowl win over Penn State at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida proved former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly very wrong about why he left the program.

Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman will forever be compared. Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU in 2021. Kelly's move spoke to the ceiling he saw at Notre Dame. He could reach 10 wins there, but he prefe

In Kelly's time with Notre Dame from 2010-21, he led the program to the national championship game in 2012 but l

Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly defends his decision to leave for LSU, but Marcus Freeman’s recent success tells a different story.

When Brian Kelly decided to leave Notre Dame and take the job at LSU, it was a surprise to many. Kelly has now completed three seasons at LSU and he won 10 games in the first two before winning nine games in 2024.