The dominoes are falling for Notre Dame.
Wednesday night, sources confirmed to BlueandGold.com that Marcus Freeman is expected to become Notre Dame’s next head football coach. He will be joined by some familiar faces.
In a video released by the Notre Dame football Twitter account, Tommy Rees told Fighting Irish players Wednesday night that he’s staying in his position of offensive coordinator.
Sources also confirmed to BlueandGold.com that tight ends coach John McNulty and running backs coach Lance Taylor, cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and safeties coach Chris O’Leary will keep their current position on staff. Defensive line coach Mike Elston tweeted that he is ready for his 12th straight year at Notre Dame, too.
Rees reportedly had the opportunity to join former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly at LSU. Pete Sampson of The Athletic reported Rees would have received a $400,000 raise to become the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.
But Rees just couldn’t do it.
“I love you guys, I love this place, I believe that we can win a national championship here,” Rees told the Irish. “And I’m committed to doing everything we can to get to that point.”
Rees continued, “I know it’s been a hell of a week for you guys. It’s been a hell of a week for a lot of us who are a part of this place. But this is where my heart is. My heart is with you guys. I care too much to leave this place. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to win a national championship.”
Freeman will be charged with doing the heavy lifting in working toward that goal. He’s expected to replace Kelly, who announced his decision to become the new head coach at LSU on Tuesday morning. Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick held a press conference to initiate a coaching search shortly thereafter.
It’s a search that didn’t last long because he didn’t have far to look.
Kelly brought Freeman on board this past January. He joined a staff that already had Rees on it. Rees joined Kelly in South Bend as the quarterbacks coach in 2017. His first year as offensive coordinator was in 2020. The Irish averaged 464.3 yards per game in the second half of the 2021 regular season and topped 500 yards three times under Rees’ control.
McNulty arrived at Notre Dame one month after Freeman this past winter. The retention of Rees, McNulty, Taylor, strength coach Matt Balis and the entire corps of primary defensive assistants makes for a more than solid starting point for Freeman’s staff, especially considering Freeman and Rees themselves were reportedly offered jobs at LSU to remain with Kelly.
It remains to be seen which other assistants will stay with Freeman and which ones will potentially leave for LSU to join Kelly. Other assistants might wind up somewhere else entirely. But for now, we know this: Freeman is expected to be officially named Notre Dame’s head coach soon, and Rees will be ready when it happens.
BlueandGold.com's Mike Singer contributed to this reporting.
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