Brian Kelly trying to bring coveted Notre Dame assistants with him to LSU

Brian Kelly wants to bring Notre Dame coordinators Marcus Freeman and Tommy Rees with him to LSU.

With Brian Kelly taking the LSU job, the former Notre Dame head coach reportedly wants to bring with his two top coordinators, Marcus Freeman and Tommy Rees with him to Baton Rouge.

This was Freeman’s first year in South Bend, as he had been the defensive coordinator for Luke Fickell’s Cincinnati Bearcats the season prior. Interestingly enough, Freeman nearly replaced Bo Pelini as the LSU coordinator last offseason prior to joining up with Kelly in 2020.

If Freeman goes to LSU, the expectation is he would be the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football, according to The Athletic’s Pete Sampson.

Freeman has been mentioned as a possible candidate to be the Notre Dame head coach, so leaving for the LSU job would indicate he isn’t a serious candidate to succeed Kelly there.

As far as Rees is concerned, he played quarterback for Kelly at Notre Dame is an offensive coordinator on the rise.

Brian Kelly wants to bring Marcus Freeman and Tommy Rees with him to LSU

Look, if Kelly wants to win big early at LSU, he must assemble a great staff. While he should have no issues attracting quality candidates, ripping Freeman and Rees away from Notre Dame will be challenging. Freeman is a serious candidate to replace Kelly in South Bend, as well as at Cincinnati if Luke Fickell were to leave. Once again, this is Rees’ alma mater and that should matter a ton.

All things equal, if Kelly is going to be able to take one of these coordinators with him, it would have to be Rees. This is because Freeman would have the opportunity to be a head coach at either Notre Dame or Cincinnati. Scott Woodward may want to back up the BRINKS truck to bring Freeman to Baton Rouge with Kelly, but Freeman can’t turn down a head-coaching opportunity.

If LSU is able to rip Kelly, Freeman and Rees away from Notre Dame, it would be a coup for the Tigers and represent a total cleaning of house in South Bend.

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