Notre Dame announced last week that athletic director Jack Swarbrick would be stepping down from his position in 2024, and much like many others, the news came as a shocker to Fighting Irish football coach Marcus Freeman. Swarbrick has held the AD position at Notre Dame for 15 years, and he will be replaced by NBC Sports Group chairman and Notre Dame alumnus Pete Bevacqua. 

"I just did not expect it to be last week when we had this conversation," Freeman told the South Bend Tribune. "I was in complete shock."

Swarbrick promoted Freeman from defensive coordinator to head coach after Brian Kelly abruptly departed for LSU following the 2021 season. Freeman hadn't been a head coach at the Division l level and served as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati before being hired for the same position with the Irish in 2020.