The Notre Dame football team is preparing for its first national title appearance since the 2012 season. The Irish have not won a championship since 1988, which was a few seasons after the Chicago Bears last won a Super Bowl.

Is Marcus Freeman a candidate for the Chicago Bears opening? Here's everything to know about the NFL rumors surrounding Notre Dame's head coach:

Marcus Freeman has done one of the best jobs in college football this season, leading Notre Dame to the national championship after the Fighting Irish were upset by Northern Illinois in their second game of the season.

The Chicago Bears are clearly planning to be quite thorough in this head coaching cycle. The franchise has confirmed seven interviews with top candidates already and a few more still will come this week. On Sunday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero linked the Bears with another candidate— and this one is a genunine surprise.

Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman was given a significant award a few days after the college football season ended. The third-year head coach led the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game this season,

A youth movement takes hold among college football coaches, and Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman is the handsome face of this millennial moment.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit believes that Notre Dame will continue to achieve immense success under head coach Marcus Freeman despite losing to Ohio State in the CFP National Championship