Will the lure of the NFL and the Big Apple be enough to pry Marcus Freeman away from Notre Dame?
Despite Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua vowing to keep Freeman among the highest-paid coaches in college football as NFL rumors gained steam this week, at least one sportsbook has moved Freeman to the favorite status to be the next head coach of the New York Giants.
GIANTS NEXT COACH ODDS*
Marcus Freeman (1/2) (-200)
Mike McCarthy (5/1)
Chris Shula (5/1)
Klint Kubiak (9/1)
Mike Kafka (9/1)
Jeff Hafley (10/1)
Joe Brady (12/1)
Steve Spagnuolo (12/1)
Jon Gruden (25/1)
Kevin Stefanski (33/1)
Jason Garrett (50/1)
Brian Flores (50/1)
Kevin Patullo (50/1)
Bill Belichick (66/1)
Eli Manning (66/1)
*Odds provided by SportsBetting.ag for entertainment purposes only.
Freeman, 39, led the Irish to a 10-2 record in 2025 as the encore to the national championship game appearance in January. His extended run of success caught the attention of NFL teams in February, and Bevacqua banks on others pushing toward the front of the line again to bid on the 39-year-old.
“Everybody has eyes on Marcus,” Bevacqua said. “College has eyes on Marcus; NFL has eyes on Marcus. I bet Hollywood has eyes on Marcus. … He’s the absolute best coach in the country for Notre Dame, full stop, one of the greatest college coaches in the country.”
The second shortest odds on the list belong to McCarthy, who would bring extensive NFL head coaching experience from his stints with Green Bay and Dallas, along with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula at +500.
Next on the list are Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Giants interim coach Mike Kafka. With the Giants at 2-11 coming off a late bye week, Kafka wasn’t asked specifically about his future on Wednesday but did address his goals over the final four games of the season.
“I think what the messaging has been is really just focusing on today, focusing on this week, not look ahead four weeks in the future, just focus on how we can improve,” he said.
“We have a game we have to play and getting that stuff organized. I’m lucky to have a great staff. I’m lucky to have a great group around me that can support me and kind of keep me on track. And then wherever I can, insert myself and put my fingerprint on it.”
Bevacqua has had his fingerprint on headlines throughout the week, beginning with his anger at Notre Dame being left out of the College Football Playoff and saying the Atlantic Coast Conference caused “permanent damage” with its campaign on behalf of the league’s Miami Hurricanes.
That led to the sportsbook creating another prop focused on Notre Dame’s future with the ACC. The Fighting Irish have a football scheduling agreement with the conference in addition to 24 of their other sports participating as ACC members.
WILL ANY NOTRE DAME SPORT LEAVE THE ACC IN 2026?
–Yes (-300)
–No (+200)
