Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman’s name has come up in conjunction with head coaching vacancies in the NFL, but it looks like teams with a need in 2026 will have to look elsewhere.
In a post to X.com on Monday, Freeman indicated that he won’t be leaving South Bend in the immediate future. Freeman wrote “2026…run it back” and “Go Irish” in the post.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said earlier this month that “everybody has eyes on Marcus” and that part of his job is to make sure Freeman “knows that he will be where he deserves to be, and that is at the top, top, top tier of college football coaches when it comes to compensation every year.”
Freeman has gone 43-12 since being hired by Notre Dame in the wake of Brian Kelly’s departure in 2021. He took the team to the national championship game last season, but Notre Dame opted out of the postseason this year after they were not given a bid to the college football playoffs.
The Giants and Titans both fired their head coaches during the regular season. There will likely be other jobs available after Week 18’s games are in the books.
The Titans fear cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis tore his Achilles in Sunday’s loss to the Saints, Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report reports.
Achilles’ tears are easily diagnosed, but Armour-Davis will undergo an MRI to confirm.
Armour-Davis was injured on Jeffery Simmons’ sack of Saints quarterback Tyler Shough with 11:10 remaining in the first half. He required a cart to get into the training room.
Armour-Davis played 10 games, starting nine, after arriving off waivers from the Ravens. He totaled 34 tackles and two passes defensed.
He is scheduled to become a free agent in March.
It was a meaningless game between teams that have long since been eliminated from playoff contention, but as an opportunity to see two promising rookie quarterbacks, today’s Saints-Titans game was not a bad one.
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough completed 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, as the Saints won 34-26.
Titans first overall pick Cam Ward had his moments but ultimately fell short, completing 21 of 40 passes for 251 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Saints still have a lot of work to do on rebuilding their roster, which has been depleted by years of salary cap mismanagement. But Shough gives them some hope for the future, as does their current four-game winning streak. The Saints are now 6-10 for the season.
The Titans fell to 3-13, and they know they have a lot of work to do in building a team around Ward, even as Ward’s improved play late this season gives them one reason for optimism.
The Panthers added rookie Tetairoa McMillan to their injury report with an illness on Sunday morning, but they won’t have to go without their top wide receiver against the Seahawks.
McMillan is active for their home game against the NFC West frontrunners. The first-round pick has 65 catches for 924 yards and seven touchdowns so far this season.
The Panthers will win the NFC South on Sunday with a win and a Buccaneers loss to the Dolphins. If they don’t get that combination of results, the two teams will okay for the division crown in Week 18.
Seahawks at Panthers
Seahawks: WR Hunter Renfrow, S Demani Richardson, DT Jared Harrison-Hunte, TE James Mitchell, DT Tershawn Wharton
Panthers: QB Jalen Milroe, CB Coby Bryant, LB Jared Ivey, T Charles Cross, G Bryce Cabledue, OL Mason Richman, DL Brandon Pili
Steelers at Browns
Steelers: QB Will Howard, WR Calvin Austin, RB Kaleb Johnson, CB Brandin Echols, CB James Pierre, G Isaac Seumalo, EDGE T.J. Watt, DL Logan Lee
Browns: OL Jeremiah Byers, QB Dillon Gabriel, OL Kendrick Green, CB Myles Harden, DL Sam Kamara, TE David Njoku, WR Jamari Thrash
Patriots at Jets
Patriots: QB Tommy DeVito, WR Kayshon Boutte, OT Marcus Bryant, G Jared Wilson, NT Khyiris Tonga, LB Robert Spillane, LB Harold Landry
Jets: QB Tyrod Taylor, OL Marquis Hayes, WR Quentin Skinner, TE Mason Taylor, DL Mazi Smith, S Chris Smith
Saints at Titans
Saints: S Ugo Amadi, WR Mason Tipton, CB Rejzohn Wright, RB Alvin Kamara, G Cesar Ruiz, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, DT Bryan Bresee
Titans: S Jerrick Reed, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, OL Garrett Dellinger, OL Drew Moss, DL Cam Horsley
Jaguars at Colts
Jaguars: CB Keith Taylor, RB Bhayshul Tuten, G Patrick Mekari, C Robert Hainsey, TE Hunter Long, DL Danny Striggow, DT Maason Smith
Colts: C Tanor Bortolini, RB Tyler Goodson, S Reuben Lowery, S George Odum, OL Dalton Tucker, DL JT Tuimoloau
Buccaneers at Dolphins
Buccaneers: QB Connor Bazelak, WR Sterling Shepard, S Rashad Wisdom, LB John Bullock, OT Tristan Wirfs, EDGE Anthony Nelson
Dolphins: QB Tua Tagovailoa, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, OL Kendall Lamm, C Aaron Brewer, LB Derrick McClendon
Cardinals at Bengals
Cardinals: S Budda Baker, OL Evan Brown, TE Pharaoh Brown, CB Kei’Trel Clark, K Joshua Karty, CB Kalen King, DL PJ Mustipher
Bengals: QB Jake Browning, WR Charlie Jones, CB Josh Newton, S PJ Jules, DE Joseph Ossai, TE Cam Grandy, DT Jordan Jefferson
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has an expiring contract. The Vikings are trying to extend it. Even if they do, Flores can interview for head-coaching jobs and, if offered one, take it.
A survey of various high-level executives throughout the league has pointed to one obvious conclusion: He’ll most likely be a candidate, because of the effectiveness of his scheme. Generally speaking, his peers and various General Managers recognize that he’s doing a phenomenal job in Minnesota.
Helping Flores in the coming cycle is the fact that, as one source put it, there are many names but very few standouts.
At least one G.M. regards Flores as the best defensive coordinator in the entire league, with a variety of pressures that make it very difficult for offenses to prepare each and every week. Some believe the scheme alone will get him serious consideration.
The other question relates to the bigger picture. Leadership of the team. Owners, as one executive put it, will focus on the ability to collaborate, as well as emotional intelligence.
How will he manage the entire locker room, especially when adversity inevitably strikes? A head coach will be expected to inspire belief through the rough spots, and there will always be one or two (or more) in a given season. The best head coaches instill a belief and a vision for attacking challenging situations with authenticity and real solutions.
Interested teams will undoubtedly dig deep into his time with Miami, which didn’t go well. How much of that is on him? How much can be attributed to the chronic dysfunction of the Dolphins organization? And while the Steelers, we’re told, loved Flores during his one-year stint as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach, there are (and have been) league-wide rumblings about his interpersonal style during three years in Minnesota — some of which may trace to eleven seasons spent working for Bill Belichick in New England.
Still, as one source put it, the scheme is more important than the other stuff. That can be dealt with later, behind closed doors, if necessary.
It’s still unclear which teams will have openings. The Titans and Giants currently do. As to New York, the fact that the Giants are one of the named defendants to his arbitration/litigation against the NFL and four specific teams (the Dolphins, Broncos, and Texans are the other named defendants) will be a natural impediment, even if it by law shouldn’t be. Don’t expect Flores to surface as an option with the Giants (or, obviously, the Dolphins, if they make a change).
Flores also will need to choose wisely. When the window opens the first time for a coordinator, there’s a strong temptation to jump through it, broader issues with the franchise be damned. When the window opens the second time, the coach needs to be far more careful, because it could be his last shot.
Ultimately, Flores’s candidacy comes down to one owner and organization deciding to make the move, and Flores deciding to make that team his second NFL head-coaching stop. Anyone who saw Thursday’s Lions-Vikings game has to at least be intrigued by the prospect of Flores bringing that kind of havoc-creating defense to a team that needs a boost. Otherwise, that team wouldn’t be looking for a new head coach.
