Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick provides update on interim head coach

The Notre Dame faithful will have to wait a little longer to hear who might lead their team in the 2021 postseason.

On Tuesday morning, Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick spoke with the media to discuss the next steps for Notre Dame.

“We haven’t made a decision on an interim yet, and frankly, I think we may approach it a little bit differently,” Swarbrick said. “This staff is so well-structured and the responsibilities are so well-understood, I feel less of a need to have a designated interim.

“As the search progresses, if we feel a need to put somebody in that position, they would not be a candidate for the job.”

The athletic director is looking for a replacement for Brian Kelly. Kelly had been at Notre Dame since the 2010 season, and he departed to be the next head coach at LSU on Tuesday morning. Kelly will not coach the Irish in the 2021 postseason.

Swarbrick said he does not have a timetable for finding a permanent replacement at this time. The athletic director did not mention any names on Tuesday, but one of the likely top candidates for the job is defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman. Freeman, 35, has led the Irish defense for just a year, and they allowed just 18.3 points per game. It is the fifth consecutive year the Notre Dame defense has held opponents under 20 points.

Other names that have been floated include Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.

Additionally, Swarbrick indicated that he does not have a running list of potential replacements at all times, as every coaching search is different. For example, when he searched for a candidate in late 2009, he wanted someone to rebuild a program. Now, rebuilding a program does not fall on the list as Notre Dame is one of the nation’s healthiest programs.

At 11-1 Notre Dame has a chance to make the College Football Playoff with a little chaos in front of them. The Irish are currently ranked No. 6 in the CFP rankings, and the new version of the rankings will be released on Tuesday night. At the very least, the Irish are looking at their third New Year’s Six bowl appearance in four years.