One of the greatest linebackers to ever play football is incredibly impressed with Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

There’s a history of Cincinnati influence in South Bend, including Kelly, who spent three seasons with the Bearcats before taking the Notre Dame job. A year before Kelly poached Freeman, he hired Bearcats defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, a Cincinnati alum who was a teammate of Freeman’s at Wayne High School outside of Dayton.

Kelly's statement has aged quite poorly, and ESPN's Paul Finebaum made sure to take a swipe at the former Notre Dame coach when discussing Notre Dame's victory on Friday morning's

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.

LSU coach Brian Kelly says he's rooting for former school Notre Dame in the CFP final. But would a championship win for the Irish mean more pressure for him?

Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman will forever be compared. Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU in 2021. Kelly's move spoke to the ceiling he saw at Notre Dame. He could reach 10 wins there, but he prefe

Is Marcus Freeman a candidate for the Chicago Bears opening? Here's everything to know about the NFL rumors surrounding Notre Dame's head coach:

Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly defends his decision to leave for LSU, but Marcus Freeman’s recent success tells a different story.