Adam Schefter weighs in on Marcus Freeman, Steve Sarkisian NFL interest

On Sunday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Chicago Bears want to interview Notre Dame‘s Marcus Freeman for their head coach opening. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided further details on the Bears’ interest in Freeman.

“I have heard that Marcus Freeman is happy at Notre Dame,” Schefter said. “He did sign that deal recently. I don’t know whether that’s leverage or not. I have no idea. I don’t have direct information beyond that.”

While it wouldn’t be impossible for Freeman to try his hand in the NFL next season, it’s unlikely. Freeman is having a career year at the helm of Notre Dame, leading the program to its first National Championship appearance since 2013.

Additionally, Freeman signed a four-year contract extension with Notre Dame in December, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich. If Dinich’s reporting is accurate, Freeman would be under contract for the next six seasons, since he had two years remaining on his previous contract.

The specifics of Freeman’s contract were not made public because Notre Dame is a private institution. Nonetheless, it’s safe to assume that Freeman was happy with the deal.

“I don’t know when they announced it, I can’t remember, but about a week or two ago, they announced another long contract here at Notre Dame,” Freeman said when asked about the NFL rumors. “So, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

Although Schefter believes Freeman is unlikely to entertain interest from NFL organizations, he said there’s a chance that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian could return to the professional level.

“Steve Sarkisian is a name that has swirled around out there in NFL circles for weeks now,” Schefter said. “His season’s over. If there were a team that wanted to talk to him, they could obviously go do that, and we’ll see whether or not he has interest in going back to the NFL.

“But, that’s a name that’s been out there for a little while that there will be NFL teams that would have some interest. So we’ll see if that actually now happens.”

Sarkisian has been the head coach at Texas since 2021. He has led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff semifinals the past two seasons but failed to reach the National Championship.

Unlike Freeman, Sarkisian has experience coaching in the NFL. He was the Oakland Raiders’ quarterbacks coach in 2004 and the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.