NFL Rumors: Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Linked to Bears HC Job After Eberflus Firing

Peter Schrager of Fox Sports noted that the Chicago Bears coaching search would likely knock on the doors of several expected candidates, including former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

But he also floated a more surprising possibility.

"Another name that you haven't heard anywhere else that I would keep your eye on—Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman," he said. "Kevin Warren, former Big Ten commissioner, is now running the Bears as the president. Familiar with the college game. They're looking for a 'leader of men' type coach. Freeman a name to watch early on in that process."

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports outlined a number of other potential candidates for the position:

Freeman, 38, has gone 30-9 as the head coach at Notre Dame and has the Fighting Irish almost assuredly into the College Football Playoff this season.

He does not have any experience at the NFL level, however, outside of a brief playing career. He was drafted by the Bears in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft but was released that September. He then caught on with both the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans that season before retiring in 2010 due to an enlarged heart valve in his left ventricle.

As for the Bears, the team's firing of Matt Eberflus was long expected, and perhaps long overdue. Despite high expectations heading into the 2024 campaign after an exciting offseason, Chicago is just 4-8 on the season, and the team has become something of a leading expert on how to lose close games.

There was the Hail Mary from the Washington Commanders. The blocked field-goal attempt against the Green Bay Packers. The overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings after Chicago's furious comeback. The horrific clock management on the final drive in Thursday's loss to the Detroit Lions, allowing time to run out without managing even a game-tying field-goal attempt.

A once promising 4-2 season was marred by a six-game losing streak, four of them in heartbreakingly close fashion, and it had become a pattern—Eberflus went 5-17 in games decided by seven points or less during his tenure.

For the time being, interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will serve as interim head coach. But the Bears will conduct a search for a new head coach in the offseason, and Freeman is reportedly a name to watch.