Late last month, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman indicated on social media that he would remain at his current job for 2026.
Reports soon followed that Freeman had received an enhanced contract from the university, helping keep him around.
Nevertheless, rumors that an NFL team could hire Freeman in this coaching cycle have persisted.
However, Freeman is still not expected to depart South Bend.
Adam Schefter of ESPN noted on Tuesday that despite garnering interest from several pro teams, Freeman is expected to remain at Notre Dame for 2026.
Freeman, 39, has compiled a 43-12 record in his four seasons with the Fighting Irish since taking over for Brian Kelly.
His name appears likely to come up for potential NFL jobs as long as he remains successful at the college level.
Browns Clips
The 2026 coaching staff in Minnesota will have one fairly significant change.
On Tuesday, coach Kevin O’Connell announced that assistant head coach Mike Pettine is retiring.
Pettine, 59, joined the Vikings in 2022. In 2024, Pettine was both the assistant head coach and the outside linebackers coach.
He served as head coach of the Browns from 2014 through 2015. Before that, Pettine spent three years as the defensive coordinator of the Jets (2009 through 2012) and one with the Bills (2013). He coordinated the defense in Green Bay from 2018 through 2020.
Moving forward, O’Connell will need to appoint a new assistant head coach. For now, the bigger question is whether O’Connell will be replacing defensive coordinator Brian Flores, either because he has gotten a head-coaching job or because he has decided to work elsewhere as a defensive coordinator.
Kevin Stefanski continues to be a busy man on the interview circuit.
Via NFL Media, Stefanski is meeting with the Dolphins on Tuesday for their head coaching vacancy.
Since the Browns fired him earlier this month, Stefanski has also interviewed with the Giants, Raiders, Titans, Ravens, and Falcons.
Stefanski accumulated a 45-56 record with Cleveland from 2020-2025, twice winning AP coach of the year.
The Browns had arguably their best win of the 2025 season over the Dolphins on Oct. 19, defeating Miami 31-6 in Cleveland.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was expected to be a popular name in this year’s head coaching cycle and that expectation has proven to be correct.
Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Minter is set to interview with the Cardinals and Titans about their vacancies on Tuesday. He’ll then have a lot of other meetings over the rest of the week.
There was already word that the Browns, Ravens and Raiders wanted to interview Minter and Breer adds the Dolphins, Giants, and Falcons to that list. Minter is expected to make his way through the entire group with two interviews a day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Minter’s defense was a major reason that the Chargers advanced to the playoffs the last two seasons and he ran the defense for Michigan when they won the national title in 2023. Given the level of interest in him right now, it won’t be a surprise if he’s running an entire team in the near future.
At least one team has now formally spoken with John Harbaugh about their head coaching vacancy.
The Falcons announced that they have completed an interview with Harbaugh on Monday afternoon.
After firing General Manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris last week, Falcons owner Arthur Blank told reporters that Harbaugh would “certainly be a candidate we would want to spend some time with.” That has now happened.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that Harbaugh has also been conducting “preliminary and extensive phone calls” with the Giants, Titans, Browns, Raiders, and Cardinals. At this point, he’s trying to decide who he’ll meet with this week and into next week before making a decision. But Harbaugh is expected to coach in 2026, as opposed to potentially becoming a TV analyst for a year before re-entering the market in 2027.
Atlanta made the widely expected hiring of Matt Ryan as president of football official on Saturday. With plenty of options, Harbaugh will have to determine if he’d like to work with Ryan or any other number of front-office executives when choosing his next spot.
The Ravens completed an interview with a head coaching candidate on Monday and they also added another one to the list of coaches they hope to interview.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Ravens have requested an interview with Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Schwartz also interviewed for the Cleveland vacancy and went 29-51 over five seasons as the head coach in Detroit.
Schwartz was on Kevin Stefanski’s staff with the Browns and Stefanski has also interviewed with the Ravens since they fired John Harbaugh.
Former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was the candidate who completed his interview with the team on Monday. Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is also expected to interview with the team on Monday.
Nearly a decade ago, the Rams hired a then 30-year-old Sean McVay to be their head coach.
It’s worked out pretty well for them ever since.
Could the Browns take a similar approach in 2026?
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Cleveland has put in a request to interview Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski for their head coach opening.
Udinski, who turned 30 on Monday, just completed his first season as Jacksonville’s OC under head coach Liam Coen. Udinski did not call plays, with Coen filling that role for the club.
Udinski has been a fast riser since entering the coaching ranks after completing his collegiate playing career as a defensive end at Towson. He started as a graduate assistant at Baylor in 2018. He was a coaching assistant with the Panthers from 2020-2021 before joining the Vikings’ staff under Kevin O’Connell in 2022.
He moved from assistant to the head coach in his first season, to assistant QBs coach in his second season, and was assistant offensive coordinator and assistant QBs coach in 2024.
Udinski, however, does not have the play-calling experience of McVay. He had been Washington’s offensive coordinator for three seasons, calling plays for two of them.
With several coach vacancies, Udinski has an outside shot at landing a head coaching job. Or he could be a potential play-calling offensive coordinator if Jacksonville allows him to move on, since he doesn’t have that role with the Jaguars.
The Browns announced their interview with Mike McDaniel for their head coaching vacancy on Monday morning and McDaniel is reportedly going to double up on conversations about a new job before the day is out.
Peter Schrager of ESPN reports that McDaniel is also set to interview with the Falcons on Monday evening. McDaniel was an assistant with the Falcons earlier in his career and the team’s president of football Matt Ryan was their quarterback during his time in Atlanta.
They are the first two teams to meet with McDaniel since he was fired, but there are others lined up. The Titans and Ravens are also slated to interview McDaniel this week.
McDaniel should also have offensive coordinator opportunities if he does not land his second head coaching gig.
The Jets are heading into the offseason with serious questions about their quarterback position and they’re moving to add one option to the roster ahead of the new league year.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the team is going to sign Bailey Zappe to a future contract. The pact will give Zappe a spot on the 90-man roster for the offseason.
Zappe spent the 2025 season on the Browns’ practice squad. He started for the Browns in Week 18 of the 2024 season and made eight starts for the Patriots over the previous two seasons. He is 208-of-335 for 2,223 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over his entire career.
Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook all started games for the Jets in 2025. Fields and Cook remain under contract for 2026.
Mike McDaniel’s dance card is filling up this week.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that McDaniel is set to interview with the Falcons and Ravens this week about their head coaching vacancies. This comes after word on Sunday that he will interview with the Browns and last week’s word that he’ll meet with the Titans.
McDaniel spent the last four seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach and was on Kyle Shanahan’s staff with the 49ers before going to Miami. He moved to the 49ers with Shanahan after working on the Falcons’ staff in 2015 and 2016, which was the same time that new Falcons president of football Matt Ryan was the team’s quarterback.
McDaniel is also drawing interest from the Lions for their offensive coordinator vacancy and other teams looking for a change at that spot could also throw their hat in the ring for McDaniel’s services.
