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Joseph Zucker is the featured Columnist IV for Notre Dame Football.
Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire.
The candidates to succeed Brian Kelly at Notre Dame are already emerging.
The Athletic's Pete Sampson reported Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman might have internal support to ascend to the top job.
At this point, it's clear that Kelly is gone.
PeteSampson, Pete Sampson
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Brian Kelly messaged the team in Team Works that he was leaving Notre Dame, and the plan is for him to meet with the team tomorrow at 7 a.m.
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Here is the full message.
The solution presented by Promoting Freeman is straightforward.
Retention of committed recruits and current members of the roster would be important if the 35-year-old was retained. Following Lincoln Riley's move to USC, there's a lot happening in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Athletic
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Oklahoma has lost a number of commits today, including 5-star QB Malachi Nelson.
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According to AriWasserman, Lincoln Riley called Nelson on behalf of USC.
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Spencer Rattler and Spencer Rattler are friends.
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pic.
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Max Olson wrote "max_olson".
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Oklahoma's exodus continues. Jadon Haselwood, the second-leading receiver and former 5-star recruit, announced on IG that he will enter the transfer portal.
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At some point, he will likely be a head coach. He's a top assistant at Notre Dame and he's building quite the recruiting profile because of how quickly his stock has risen.
timprister wrote about Irish Illustrated.
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When Charlie Weis was fired, Jack was adamant that he find someone with head coaching experience. It was easy to pick Brian Kelly. Now on very solid footing. Would be more likely to go with Marcus. A great representative of the program.
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There's the issue of potentially having to wait for Cincinnati to wrap up a run through the College Football Playoff with Fickell. The season will be extended by at least December 31 if the Bearcats beat Houston on Saturday. Two weeks after the early signing period.
If a national championship is in play, Fickell might be willing to leave Cincinnati in December, but that seems unlikely.
Standing by for the right coach can be the better long-term play, even if it means suffering on the recruiting trail.
Fickell has shown he can run a program and build it up.
Fickell has made them relevant again within five years.
It looks like Notre Dame won't be able to find a replacement for Kelly.
