Report: Marcus Freeman 'Firmly on the NFL Radar' as 'Teams Have Done Their Homework'

While coaching candidates such as Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn have generated much of the attention and headlines during the ongoing NFL cycle, some teams reportedly have their eye on a college coach still competing for a championship.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Thursday that "Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is firmly on the NFL radar entering the Fighting Irish's College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State. Teams have done their homework on him."

Freeman has quickly moved up the coaching ladder in the college game with stops as a defensive assistant for Purdue, defensive coordinator for Cincinnati and defensive coordinator for Notre Dame before taking over the head coaching position.

The Bearcats went 9-1 and reached the Peach Bowl in large part because of his defense during the 2020 campaign, which convinced the Fighting Irish to bring him in as defensive coordinator. The powerhouse then made him the head coach after just one season when Brian Kelly left for LSU.

He is since 32-9 overall in the position and has Notre Dame just two wins away from the inaugural 12-team CFP championship. Freeman has also been praised for his leadership and the culture he has built in just three years as the head coach, which surely helped the team bounce back from a shocking loss to Northern Illinois to reach such heights this season.

That leadership is undoubtedly intriguing to NFL teams, and his defensive background could help a team needing to make strides on that side of the ball.

Any NFL team interested in him will have to wait until the Fighting Irish's championship pursuit is over to potentially interview him. The team has already defeated Indiana and Georgia by double digits and has a semifinal showdown with Penn State looming on Thursday.

If Notre Dame wins that, it will face either Ohio State or Texas for the national championship. That could create a situation where Freeman would go out on top if he was interested in making the leap to the NFL.