Titans Linked To Marcus Freeman In Coaching Search: Notre Dame insider details his NFL head coach fit and style 

Could the Titans be the next NFL team to hire from the college ranks?

Easton Freeze, Ryan Roberts
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There are fewer than two weeks to go until the Tennessee Titans’ forgettable 2025 season is behind them and their long-awaited head coach search hits the ground running. Popular candidates around the NFL include coordinators such as Robert Saleh, Chris Shula, and Klint Kubiak. Even current head coaches like John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski, and Mike McDaniel are on active fired-then-hired watch.

But ask around the league, and one of the most coveted names in coaching comes from the college ranks: Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. And his name was just connected to current NFL openings in ESPN’s latest insider notebook.

Add Marcus Freeman to the Titans’ head coach list

ESPN NFL insiders Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler wrote on Christmas Eve that Freeman’s name keeps coming up, and he’s at least thinking about interviewing to make the leap to the pros: 

“Here’s what I know. Yes, the Giants are expected to have interest in him when the carousel kicks off. But the Titans have done their research, too. And so have a few teams that will either have an opening or potentially could have one. No teams have officially requested to speak with Freeman as of the last time I checked, but if Freeman wants to at least explore the possibility of the NFL via conversations with teams, he will have opportunities to do that. Freeman will take the next few weeks to make that decision.”

Notre Dame hasn’t exactly been embodying their “Fighting Irish” namesake lately, in the news for opting out of a Bowl game when it missed the playoffs, their longstanding matchup with USC falling apart in 2026, and its public beef with the ACC for having the gall to campaign for an ACC team to get into the playoff over a non-ACC team.

All of this hasn’t sullied Freeman’s name, though, but it’s the kind of tumult that makes you wonder if he wants to continue putting up with the brand of nonsense exclusive to college athletics.

It’s no surprise the Titans have reportedly done their homework on Freeman; in fact, I can say with a degree of certainty that any coaching candidate being discussed has been researched by the Titans front office.

Every time I’ve spoken to them since Callahan’s dismissal, that’s what they’ve been up to: grinding away on coaching candidate background research. So in that sense, the list of coaches they’ve done work on is likely broad enough to encompass every reported “shortlist” that’s been published.

Should they want to seriously entertain a college coach, though? The history of college-to-pro head coaching leaps is tenuous at best. For every success story — such as Jim Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin, and Pete Carroll — there seem to be three flameouts. Matt Rhule, Chip Kelly, Urban Meyer, Kliff Kingsbury, Lane Kiffin, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, and Bobby Petrino all come to mind.

It sounds like Freeman isn’t even sure if he’d be interested himself. Combine that with a highly questionable history for this kind of hire, and I wouldn’t consider an interview likely at this point in time. If we start hearing all kinds of buzz about him wanting out of college in the new year, though, that could change in a hurry.

Notre Dame insider’s perspective on Freeman to the NFL

What’s the Fighting Irish perspective on this? Here’s A to Z Notre Dame writer Ryan Roberts’ two cents:

Freeman, who is still only 39 years old, has been mentioned in connection with pretty much every big job that has been open this offseason. From a college perspective, that interest is easy to understand. Previously an outstanding defensive coordinator, Freeman learned to he a head coach on the fly, and has consistently gotten better and better each year as an in-game coach. Combine that with his impact as a recruiter and the presence he brings naturally, and Freeman is an easy sell to any program. His background and personality could potentially fit just about anywhere in the country. 

The NFL interest, however, is a much different conversation. Freeman has no ties to the NFL outside of having a cup of coffee with the Chicago Bears as a player before an injury cut his career short. Freeman is a player-coach who excels due to his ability to attract top talent on the recruiting trail. Will his style mesh well enough on the NFL side? That is a question without a clear answer right now. Still, there appears to be at least some intrigue from the Freeman side for the future. 

It would appear that NFL teams are valuing the person first and foremost, and betting that his development as a head coach continues to trend upward. Freeman has been a very adaptable coach who could potentially fit at the NFL level if an organization remained patient.

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