LSU Football going head to head with Notre Dame for assistant coach

LSU football is going head to head with Notre Dame for a highly coveted assistant coach.

LSU football has made Cincinnati Bearcats defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman their top target to replace Bo Pelini in Baton Rouge.

But the Tigers have competition for Freeman.

Freeman, who is set to interview with LSU on Thursday, has interviewed twice this week with the Irish (via Zoom and in person, according to 247Sports).

Early in the process, it appeared that Freeman was going to pass on defensive coordinator jobs and instead remain at Cincinnati while he waited on a head coaching gig.

It seems inevitable now, however, that Freeman will land at either LSU or Notre Dame.

Notre Dame could have the edge over LSU football for Freeman

Ultimately this decision will probably come down to money. Whoever offers the most cash will get Freeman.

But if the money is the same, who does Freeman go with?

My gut says it would be Notre Dame.

Freeman is from the midwest, played at Ohio State, and has spent his entire coaching career at schools in either Indiana or Ohio.

If it comes down to geographical preference, Notre Dame would obviously be the pick.

There’s also the Brian Kelly connection with Cincinnati. Freeman has never coached with Kelly, but I’m sure there are some folks still associated with the Cincinnati program that have connections to Kelly from his time as the Bearcats head coach.

Freeman is a bit more familiar with Notre Dame, too. The Irish were actually in Freeman’s final four schools when he committed to Ohio State in 2004.

Another connection between Freeman and Notre Dame is Mike Mickens, the former Bearcats defensive backs coach who joined Notre Dame’s staff prior to the 2020 season.

Mickens and Freeman played high school football together, which could be a big draw for Freeman.

It’s possible that LSU could impress Freeman during the interview process. Maybe he will fit in better with Coach O and his staff. You never know how a coaching search will go. It’s college football, after all.

But if I had to bet, I’d go with Freeman ending up at Notre Dame.