Tuesday, it all still felt so new. Wednesday is a new day.
Former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has officially left South Bend for the last time as the Fighting Irish’s head football coach. He’ll be introduced at LSU in a press conference later today.
The Irish, meanwhile, are in the midst of a coaching search to find Kelly’s replacement. Follow along for live updates of everything related to Kelly’s official introduction and information on Notre Dame’s coaching search.
TUESDAY’S UPDATES: Click here to read everything that happened related to Notre Dame’s head coaching job from Monday night through Tuesday night
8:49 p.m. Wednesday: BlueandGold.com reports Marcus Freeman is expected to be named Notre Dame’s next head football coach
INITIAL STORY: Notre Dame will promote Marcus Freeman to head coach, replacing Brian Kelly
WHAT IT MEANS: What hiring Marcus Freeman would mean for Notre Dame football going forward
RETAINING ASSISTANTS: Tommy Rees turns down LSU, will remain Notre Dame offensive coordinator
8:15 p.m. Wednesday: Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports Tommy Rees will stay at Notre Dame, head coaching search will continue
8:05 p.m. Wednesday: Sports Illustrated and The Athletic report Tommy Rees will stay on as Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator
8:03 p.m. Wednesday: Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports reports Marcus Freeman will be Notre Dame’s next head coach
6:54 p.m. Wednesday: Former Notre Dame walk-on reports the Irish’s next head coach will be Marcus Freeman
A walk-on from Atlanta who played at Notre Dame from 2016-19, Mick Assaf tweeted Wednesday evening that he had confirmed through multiple sources that Marcus Freeman would be Notre Dame’s successor to Brian Kelly. Assaf also stated Tommy Rees is deciding between Notre Dame and LSU.
Assaf’s reports were not immediately confirmed by any major media outlets.
6:33 p.m. Wednesday: Tyler Buchner voices support for Tommy Rees
Marcus Freeman has gotten plenty of love from Notre Dame players in the last few days, but a name that is only been mentioned in reports has been that of Tommy Rees.
A trio of Irish quarterbacks broke the silence on Rees. Sophomore Drew Pyne, freshman Tyler Buchner and senior walk-on Cole Capen stood up for their offensive coordinator by tweeting, “#PayTommyRees.”
Per multiple reports, Rees has an offer on the table to join forces with Brian Kelly at LSU. Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday morning that Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick would meet with Rees with intentions to retain him on the Irish staff.
1:45 p.m. Wednesday: Notre Dame players have tweeted images of themselves with Marcus Freeman
It is no secret who current Notre Dame players want to be their next head coach. Many of them have taken to social media to blast out pictures of them with Marcus Freeman.
Senior safety Houston Griffith, graduate student defensive tackle Kurt Hinish and sophomore defensive lineman Ryle Mills all sent out tweets with pictures of Freeman.
1 p.m. Wednesday: Brian Kelly is introduced as LSU’s head coach in a formal press conference
10:45 a.m. Wednesday: Notre Dame head coach rumor mill update
BlueandGold.com’s Mike Singer shares what he’s hearing on Notre Dame's head coach search on what may be a pivotal day for the future of the football program.
10:20 a.m. Wednesday: Brian Kelly joins the Dan Patrick Show
Brian Kelly has been a recurring guest on the Dan Patrick Show for years. Wednesday, he joined Patrick to talk leaving Notre Dame and arriving at LSU.
Kelly said the move wasn’t so much about what Notre Dame couldn't afford him in terms of resources and the ability to win but rather wanting to take on a new challenge at this stage in his career.
Kelly said he did not have a “wandering eye” during Notre Dame's 11-1 season and only seriously considered the LSU opportunity when it was presented to him after the Irish’s win last weekend at Stanford.
9:50 a.m. Wednesday: Notre Dame search down to Luke Fickell and Marcus Freeman?
Football Scoop’s John Brice reported the following: “numerous sources have told FootballScoop throughout the day Tuesday that the Notre Dame search has primarily focused on two early targets: defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell.”
8:07 a.m. Wednesday: Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick will not meet with the College Football Playoff committee
According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick was scheduled to sit on the CFP committee’s expansion meeting Wednesday. Those plans changed sometime late Tuesday or Wednesday morning.
Dellenger reported Swarbrick will spend the time speaking with Irish coordinators Tommy Rees and Marcus Freeman. The latter is believed to be a candidate for the vacant head coaching position left by Brian Kelly.
12:30 a.m. Wednesday: BlueandGold.com releases every word Brian Kelly said to Notre Dame players in a brief exit speech
Brian Kelly called a meeting for Notre Dame players at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Director of athletics Jack Swarbrick introduced Kelly in an auditorium inside the Guglielmino Athletics Complex, and Kelly spoke for three minutes and 40 seconds.
“Look, I know we have been through this together,” Kelly said. “I recruited virtually everybody in this room. I want to be able to tell you face to face why we’re at where we’re at.”
FULL SPEECH: An exclusive word-for-word transcription of Kelly’s exit meeting speech to Notre Dame players
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