The Orange Bowl was a huge win for that program. The fact that they made it all this way — against Penn State, no less — speaks to the job Freeman has done. To go from losing to Northern Illinois at the beginning of the season to playing for a national championship is unheard of.

"Brian Kelly left Notre Dame because he didn’t think he could win a national title there in the current CFB landscape. He thought LSU would be a better path. His replacement has Notre Dame just 60 minutes away from a title, and Kelly enters next season on a hot seat," said another.

Freeman — a surprise hire in December 2021 since he had never been a head coach when Notre Dame promoted the then-defensive coordinator after Kelly bolted for LSU — hasn’t had the same problems.