Heading into the 2026 college football season, there are plenty of high expectations for Notre Dame and a lot of it has to due to head coach Marcus Freeman.
Now entering his fifth full season leading the Irish, Freeman has established himself as one of the best in the country and CBS Sports reaffirmed that. Tom Fornelli along with other contributors helped comprise the list of the top-25 Power Four coaches and the Ohio native checked in at No. 4.
In his eyes there are only three other head coaches that are better, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Ohio State’s Ryan Day. Each of them have at least one title under their belts, which is probably the only thing holding Freeman back.
Fornelli explains why Freeman was behind those three, saying “he has taken what Brian Kelly built at Notre Dame and improved upon it in many ways. Once viewed as one of the most overrated teams year after year, Notre Dame is now seen as a legitimate national title contender, and Freeman is a massive reason why.”
It’s easy to see why he has become so well respected in the sport, and it’s just a matter of time before the Irish break through and win another championship. When it happens, as Fornelli said, Freeman will be why.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Where CBS Sports ranks Notre Dame HC among the nation’s elite
Reporting by Michael Chen , Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
