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.

Say Marcus Freeman does take an NFL job. Who are the first calls you make to find his replacement at Notre Dame?

Doesn't matter where -- around Notre Dame Stadium, past the Grotto or Touchdown Jesus.  The point is, the former Irish athletic director who hired Marcus Freeman should be ripping off his shirt, pounding his chest and whooping at the top of his lungs.