The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell just short of making the College Football Playoff in 2025. Despite winning the final 10 games of the season, they were left out of the CFP in favor of Miami. Miami ended up playing for a national championship.
Instead of playing a bowl game, the Fighting Irish ended their season. They were able to do a great job finishing up their recruiting class, and they cleaned up well in the Transfer Portal. Combining recruiting and the portal, Notre Dame has the fourth-best class in the country.
Marcus Freeman recently lost linebackers coach Al Washington to the NFL. Washington joined the Miami Dolphins to coach under Jeff Hafley. Notre Dame has now found their replacement for Washington.
GettyNotre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman yells. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish add Brian Jean-Mary to Coaching Staff
Freeman has added Brian Jean-Mary to the coaching staff, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Jean-Mary will now coach the linebackers for the Fighting Irish. Jean-Mary has coached at both Michigan and Tennessee in the past, so now he will coach in South Bend.
Three of the top five tacklers for the team last season were linebackers. Freeman uses his linebackers as a very important part of his defense, and he needs someone he can trust to recruit and develop that position. He has entrusted Jean-Mary with that role.
Last season, Notre Dame had the 11th-best scoring defense in the country. While they lost some defensive talent to the NFL Draft and the Transfer Portal, they should once again have a great defense. Now, Freeman is hoping to have a better offense in 2026.
GettyNotre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback C.J. Carr throws a pass. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Look to be Better Offensively
One of the big goals of Freeman and his staff was to improve offensively this offseason. The Fighting Irish added a pair of former five-star recruits at the receiver position from Ohio State. They brought in both Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham from the Buckeyes.
Both players have a lot of raw talent and should immediately shoot up the depth chart. With C.J. Carr returning next season in his second year as a starter, Notre Dame wanted to get him some weapons heading into his sophomore campaign. They accomplished that.
Notre Dame’s schedule is much easier in 2026. They have ended their rivalry series with USC, so their hardest game next year is against Miami. That game will take place in South Bend in November, so that will give them an extra advantage.
The other toughest game that the Fighting Irish has to play is at BYU. If they can win both of those games, they should have a better shot of making the 12-team College Football Playoff next season. If they are ranked in the top-12, they are guaranteed a spot regardless.
Notre Dame can now focus on improving the roster instead of having to find replacements for the coaching staff.
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