One of the immediate rumors that took center stage following the Chicago Bears firing Matt Eberflus in-season was the idea that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman may be looking to make the jump from the college level to the NFL.
It seemed to be a stretch considering Freeman has no experience coaching at the NFL level. Freeman's Fighting Irish are among the teams in the College Football Playoffs, with their first-round matchup against Indiana taking place on Friday night.
The idea of Freeman being a serious candidate for the Bears' HC opening never seemed to hold much merit and he was officially eliminated from consideration on Sunday. Freeman and Notre Dame have agreed to a lucrative contract extension.
Can confirm Marcus Freeman has agreed to a long term contract extension, believed to be a four year extension that locks him up for 6 more years, according to a source.
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) December 16, 2024
Freeman's work at Notre Dame has certainly provided a reason for the Fighting Irish to lock him up for the foreseeable future. Having said that, Freeman's agent floating the Bears' opening as possibility likely added some sense of urgency to negotiations for Notre Dame. It's a strategy that was used time-after-time for former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Whenever the Bears' had a head coach opening, Fitzgerald's name would always be listed as potential candidate before he inked a new deal with the school.
If you're keeping track at home, that is now two theoretical candidates that have been eliminated from the Bears' search. In addition to Freeman, Bill Belichick landing with the North Carolina Tar Heels all but confirmed the Bears had no interest in the future Hall of Fame head coach.
Marcus Freeman would have been a mistake.
When it comes to the next Bears' head coach, the team shouldn't go with an experiment. There is plenty to like about the idea of Freeman eventually being a head coach at the NFL level but this wouldn't have been the right selection for the Bears.
Beyond finding a head coach to get the most out of Caleb Williams, the Bears need a NFL head coach that has gone through the gameday operation. Eberflus never had that experience and never took a liking to it given his shortcomings over the last three seasons prior to his firing.