SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman has been named to the 2026 Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year Watch List. The award is given each January to a college football coach for contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life – both on and off the field.
Notre Dame (6-1) is ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. The Irish lead the nation in total defense, allowing just 235 yards per game – more than 11 yards fewer than the next-closest team. Notre Dame has given up 67.3 rushing yards a game this season, the third-fewest in the FBS, while allowing just 13.4 points per game in 2026, tied for the fifth lowest in the country. Offensively, the Irish rank sixth nationally in scoring, averaging 41.1 points per game. Notre Dame has outscored its opponents by 194 points through seven games, the second-best scoring differential in the country.
Freeman, who has a 49-13 record, entered the 2026 season after leading the Irish to a 10-2 record, with a final Associated Press ranking of No. 10. He coached 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love while also having two players earn Unanimous All-American honors in Love and Leonard Moore. Under Freeman’s leadership in 2025, Love was named Notre Dame’s first-ever Doak Walker Award winner, which honors college football’s top running back. Additionally, Moore was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award for the national defensive player of the year and also the Thorpe Award for college football’s top defensive back.