Is Marcus Freeman a Top-5 or Top-10 Head Coach? Top Analysts Answer

With campuses quiet and spring practice still weeks away, the college-football conversation has turned to projection rather than production. Two of the sport’s most influential national voices, Fox Sports lead analyst Joel Klatt and Late Kick host Josh Pate, have both stamped Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman as a top-five head coach entering the 2026 season.

Klatt unveiled an updated top-10 list that slots the 39-year-old Freeman at No. 5, praising the program’s year-over-year consistency and upward trajectory since he took the reins in late 2021. Pate echoed the ranking on his widely followed show, highlighting the Irish’s surge in recruiting, improved on-field product and what he terms “proximity to a national title” as justification for placing Freeman among the elite.

The endorsements arrive with numbers to back them. Freeman has compiled a 43-12 record in four seasons, producing double-digit victories in every full campaign except his first in 2022. His 2024 squad set a school record at 14-2, rattled off 13 consecutive wins and toppled seven ranked opponents en route to a national-championship-game berth and a final No. 2 ranking in both major polls. That breakthrough earned Freeman a sweep of the sport’s major coaching honors: the Paul “Bear” Bryant, Bobby Dodd and George Munger awards.

Although the Irish slipped to 10-2 last fall and bypassed a bowl invitation, national observers continue to view Freeman as a rising power broker whose program is positioned for sustained contention. Both Klatt and Pate cite steady NFL buzz and short national-title odds among the indicators that Freeman’s stock is still climbing as the 2026 cycle approaches.