Could the Chicago Bears’ coaching search continue for at least another week?

According to the NFL Network, the Bears would like to interview Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. The Irish are set to play Ohio State on Jan. 20 in the College Football Playoff national championship game and Freeman is the first Black coach to be the head coach of a team playing for the national title.

Per the report, the Bears “have done extensive research” on Freeman “for months.” That language would sure make it seem like the Bears would consider him a legitimate candidate at this stage.

If Freeman is interested in at least talking to the Bears, any interview would probably take place after the title game. And if the Bears are really wanting to wait to talk to Freeman, waiting for his season to be over probably isn’t that big of a deal.

After all, many of the candidates the Bears have already interviewed are still coaching in the NFL playoffs. Detroit assistants Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson have talked to the Bears and the Lions will play their first playoff game either Jan. 18 or Jan. 19. And the Baltimore Ravens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken are already in the divisional round after taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.

Freeman just turned 39 and is in his third season as Notre Dame’s head coach after taking over for Brian Kelly. Note Dame is 14-1 this season and the Irish have beaten Indiana, Georgia and Penn State in the CFP so far. The Irish took down the Nittany Lions 27-24 in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.

Overall, Notre Dame is 33-9 in Freeman’s tenure. The team has improved its record in each of Freeman’s seasons with the team after going 9-4 in 2022.

Freeman was Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator for a season before becoming the team’s head coach. The former Ohio State linebacker was Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator from 2017-2020 before coming to South Bend.

The Bears are looking for a coach after making a midseason coaching change for the first time in franchise history. The team fired coach Matt Eberflus after a 4-8 start and finished the season 1-4 under interim coach Thomas Brown. Chicago lost 10 straight games before winning its season finale against the Green Bay Packers.