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.

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:

After Notre Dame's unthinkable Week Two loss to Northern Illinois in South Bend, some tough questions were being asked both nationally and locally about the direction of the Irish program. Is the Marcus Freeman era going off the rails?