Report: Brian Kelly plans to raid Notre Dame for top assistant

Brian Kelly is officially headed to LSU, meaning he has to fill out a staff. Based on a report from The Athletic, Kelly reached out to a key Notre Dame assistant about following him to Baton Rouge.

Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has been viewed as a name to watch in Notre Dame’s surprise coaching search. But The Athletic’s Pete Sampson reported Tuesday that Kelly is hoping to bring the former Cincinnati defensive coordinator with him to LSU — with quite a payday in store.

Source: LSU head coach Brian Kelly reached out to Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman on Monday in an effort to bring him to Baton Rouge. Kelly would intend to make Freeman the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) November 30, 2021

But Freeman isn’t the only Notre Dame assistant Kelly is hoping to bring to LSU. The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna reports Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is also on Kelly’s wish list.

LSU is also making a hard run at Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees, sources tell @TheAthletic, in addition to DC Marcus Freeman. https://t.co/I9NVJCnrLC

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 30, 2021

Freeman played linebacker at Ohio State from 2004-08 and was chosen in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. After bouncing around NFL practice squads, he went back to Ohio State as a graduate assistant coach in 2010.

He worked his way up through the coaching rankings to become Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator from 2017-20. Freeman was rumored to head to LSU this past offseason, but Kelly brought him to South Bend to replace Clark Lea.

Now, rumors are once again swirling that Freeman could end up in Baton Rouge. That could throw a major twist into Notre Dame’s search for Kelly’s replacement.

Rees played for Kelly from 2010-14 and joined the coaching staff in 2017 as quarterbacks coach. He moved up to offensive coordinator in 2020 and stayed in the role this season.

The Fighting Irish had the 11th-best scoring defense in the country this season, holding teams to 18.9 points per game. In fact, Notre Dame nearly went all of November without allowing a touchdown. Stanford scored in the second half of last week’s game to end that streak.

LSU officially hires Brian Kelly as next head football coach

The LSU football team has officially announced it hired Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame to become the program’s 34th head coach. The news was first reported on Monday via Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel.

Kelly signed a 10-year contract worth $95 million, according to a press release announcing his hiring. He’ll be formally introduced in a press conference at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Kelly was the head coach for the Fighting Irish for 12 seasons, amassing a 92-39 record in that span. He turned them into a constant in the College Football Playoff conversation, making two playoff semifinals and appearing in the 2012 national championship. There has been nothing but consistency at Notre Dame with Kelly, winning at least 10 games over the past five years.