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.

Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Notre Dame and coach Marcus Freeman are moving closer to a defensive hire to replace Al Golden. And that move is expected to be another coach with previous experience running a program.

Entering the season, Freeman was essentially nowhere to be found on national lists. What a change he has made for both the Irish and himself.

The Fighting Irish have been on the lookout for a new defensive coordinator following Golden's move to the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL and appear to be keen on an ex-Rutgers head honcho

Notre Dame football has wasted little time attempting to fill its defensive coordinator vacancy after losing Al Golden to the NFL. The Irish are eyeing former Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Chris Ash to join head coach Marcus Freeman’s staff as the program attempts to build off its College Football Playoff runner-up finish this season,

It took only a couple of days for the Notre Dame college football team to lose several of their most important pieces to this year's successful season. But few losses loom larger than defensive coordinator Al Golden leaving for the NFL.