Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman has built something durable in South Bend, the kind of program that makes NFL front offices look twice even when the coach himself keeps saying he is not looking.
That tension is back in the conversation after the Green Bay Packers’ messy Week 1 collapse, and it is worth viewing through an Irish lens rather than as just another name on a Packers rumor mill.
Evan Massey of Packers Roundtable recently listed Freeman among five coaches worth watching if the Packers decide Matt LaFleur’s late-game shortcomings have finally run their course.
Massey’s framing was straightforward: Freeman has been a recurring NFL talking point, he has chosen Notre Dame so far, and Green Bay’s job might be one of the few that could actually pull him. From campus, that reads less like a compliment and more like a reminder of how far the Irish have come under him.
Since taking over in 2021, Freeman has posted a 45-12 record and turned Notre Dame into a consistent national presence rather than a program that merely flashes in November.
The Irish already have a living connection to Lambeau Field this season. Notre Dame opened September with a 41-13 win over Wisconsin in Green Bay, a rare visit that underlined how the two brands still share history even if they rarely share a field. Curly Lambeau once played for Knute Rockne.
Matt LaFleur himself spent a brief 2014 stint coaching Notre Dame quarterbacks. Those threads do not make Freeman a Packers coach-in-waiting, but they do make the rumor feel less random than it otherwise would. Green Bay is not just another NFL stop. It is a place with Irish fingerprints.
Freeman has spent the last year answering the same question in different rooms. After last winter’s coaching carousel, he stayed, signed a richer contract, and posted a simple public line: run it back.
He has described NFL interest as a byproduct of team success, not a destination. That posture matters in South Bend. Notre Dame does not want a coach who treats the Golden Dome as a waiting room, and Freeman has repeatedly said everything he wants professionally can still be found there.
Athletic director Pete Bevacqua has been just as clear that the school will fight to keep him.
None of that makes the Packers chatter disappear. A franchise with Jordan Love in his prime and a fan base tired of blown fourth quarters will keep scanning the college ranks for a coach who can organize a roster and close games.
Freeman’s Notre Dame teams have shown discipline, recruiting staying power, and an ability to recover from the kinds of September ghosts that once defined the program. That is the part Packers observers notice.
For Irish fans, the better story is still the one unfolding in South Bend. Freeman has already chosen Notre Dame more than once when the NFL came calling.
If Green Bay ever makes a serious run, it will test that choice again. Until then, the more relevant question is whether the Fighting Irish can turn this season’s start into the kind of year that makes the next rumor wave even louder.
