JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Jan. 28, 2026 | 1/28/2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Jan. 28, 2026

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Eric Hansen

OK, I am past my expiration date and need to scoot. Thanks for all the great questions, including the ones I didn't get to. We'll do this all over again next Wednesday at noon ET.

3:43

Sometimes question repeat others, so I tend ot skip those. Or if there's no name or it's just a long list of grievances and its's not Festivus, I'm not going to take that on. ... I take questions from both the early pile and the late pile. If you send one at 2:57 ET, though I might never see it. Sometimes if you send too early, the question might no longer be relevant, but usually they are. I would have to go through the analytics deeper, but just off the top of my head, generally higher during the season, Sometimes the most come after a loss or when people are confused about something. In general people BELIEVE Notre Dame can win a national title. And that makes the chats more fun.

3:38

Hi John. Thank YOU! I feel bad if I missed some of your questions. But if you don't get me here, you can ask on Football Never Sleeps on Monday nights (7ET) live on YouTube or on our Lou Somogyi message board. It's best to tag me there so I can find the question in a timely fashion. But let's answer these for you ... The question volume varies, but I just went an looked at the analytics. In these offseason chats, it's rare for it to dip below 70 questions and can be as high as 100. In season, it's usually higher. I had a pretty high percentage this week and last. But I went an hour into overtime last week to get there. If I keep it just to three hours, I usually hit about 50%. in the ottseason (more)

John from Champaign

3:32

Hi Eric. Thanks so much for your hard work and insight. My question is this: It seems harder lately to have questions answered by you. How many questions do you get a week in the chat? What percentage, roughly, do you answer? Yes, a little math. Is it better to post the day before, right before the chat starts, in the middle of the chat? Finally, are the number of questions in the chat much higher during the season and have the numbers dramatically increased with the success of ND with Coach Freeman. Thanks.

Eric Hansen

3:32

Rick. It's not paid into a trust. I don't know the frequency off the fop of my head. I loved your preamble.

Rick from SoCal

3:30

I know you don't live in SB for the weather, but DAMN! you got some cold in your neighborhood! Sorry to say it is in the 70's in SoCal. I guess that is why we pay so much in taxes! This money the players are getting from NIL and the co-ops, is it paid monthly or put into a trust until they graduate? Seems odd if somebody makes $1M and is a regular student. We were happy with laundry money when I played and that was not very much. Great job Eric!!!

Eric Hansen

3:30

Adam, we did ask Freeman and quite honestly I can't remember the answer. But even if Mike was promoted to DC, if he was successful, he'd probably get a head coaching job within 2-3 years. DC's tend to have short shelf lives when they are successful (and when they are not, for that matter). Look at ND's past few ... three years, one year, three years, one year, 2 1/3 years.

Adam from FL

3:28

Has Freeman ever asked why Mickens was not promoted to DC when Golden left? I understand the preference for an experienced DC like Ash, but Mickens is a proven recruiter and secondary coach and could have helped stock ND with NFL talent for years to come.

Eric Hansen

3:28

Ok, I hit the Mickens replacements I like in the very early stages. Winter comfort food, chili and the spicier the better. Tomato soup is No. 2.

Jim, Oregonia, OH

3:27

Eric!!!! Greetings from frigid and snowy southern OH...I am ready for Spring! I imagine you are getting bombarded with inquiries regarding Mickens departure, is there any rumor mills out there as to who might be on the "short list" to replace him? This is a big loss, but I have faith in HC MF to bring in somebody strong. I would think coaches would have to be salivating to coach this db group. An aside question, what is your go to comfort food for all this snowy, cold weather? Thanks for hosting these chats and all the insight you bring to the table.

Eric Hansen

3:27

Jim. This is a GREAT question that you asked to an awful answerer. It contorts my mind in a direction I'd never go naturally. And that answer would change had it happened this winter to if it happened next winter to if it happened int he winter of 2037. Off the top of my head, Clark Lea and Mike Denbrock make the most sense to me. The fact that this is a hard question is a testament too to who Marcus Freeman has become. Oh, you asked for three. My mind is blank. Sorry.

Jim from Springfield, IL

3:23

Thanks for continuing these chats. If Marcus Freeman leaves next year, who are your top three replacement candidates, recognising that the ND job is different from most others in college football??

Eric Hansen

3:23

Got to do this lightning round style to finish up as my next assignment is coming up fast.

Ok now I'm hungry.

3:22

at a gas station and he wondered why he hadn't heard from someone in South Bend, I won't name, and then he asked me: Did I matter? Did my life matter beyond football? And I'll never forget that conversation. 3) Favorite meal. So many, but I will say Stuffed shells. It's also what I make best. Just don't do it often. Best dessert? Anything that starts out with the words salted carmel, but I'll say my grandma's chocolate cake from scratch with vanilla ice cream.

3:18

Scott!!!!!!!!!!!! How would you like to come mow my lawn? Hmmm? Hmmm? There's even a pool and a pond. The pond would be good for you! Ok to your questions. I dabbled in who I like in the original hot board, will probably do some more digging this weekend and get yo a more complete answer. I agree with your assessment of Marcus and having the "it" factor and ND being willing to pay its assistants too. 1) I probably will revise these and come up with different answers if I had more time to think about it. These should be easy questions but I don't ruminate on myself very often LOL. Two movies jump out ... What Dreams May Come, which is very serious, and Caddyshack, because it never loses its awesomeness. I did like most of the Star Wars movies too. 2. Louis Nix III. And there have been so many others in that same tier, but maybe one of the most real moments I can remember in my life is when Louis (who I stayed in touch with after his ND days) called me from his hospital bed after being randomly shot (more)

Scott, Greenville SC

Wait, I wasnt finished! Obviously Mike Mickens departure is a big loss for the team. But, as all good leaders do, they leave the team in better shape than when they arrived. I have to think this has to be one of the top jobs in football. I have no idea who will get, I suspect you have a few good options. Can you share those with us? Also, do you think the coaching Carousel is done, or will ND possibly lose another coach or two? Frankly, I think as long as Marcus is coaching, others will want to work with him. He has the "it" factor. So, I have three final questions: 1) favorite movie and why? 2) favorite ND player you've covered since the Holtz era? 3) favorite meal and dessert? Eric, after this past weekend, I just want to say that, "I'm alright, don't nobody worry about me!" But you are, an incredible Cinderella story! Have a great rest of the week!

3:08

Eric!!!!! We got through the winter storm of '26! As it was snowing and sleeting, all i could do was look up and say, "I don't this the heavy stuff is gonna come for quite awhile." "So I've got that going for me, which is nice!" Two scenes, two quotes.

Eric Hansen

3:07

Hi Robb, Aneyas Williams has incredible numbers in an admittedly small sample size. I need some more from him, before I jump to an NFL projection, but I really like what we've seen so far and I like the other backs in the room. I'm really curious to see what post-ACL recovery Kedren Young looks like.

Robb, Colorado

3:06

Eric!!! Any chance that Williams follows the patch of Love and Price and finishes as a Day 1 or Day 2 pick after starting in 2026?

Eric Hansen

3:05

As far as the schedule, what it looks like on paper is almost never how it plays out in reality. Just ask the teams that played Indiana the past two seasons. But even on paper, there are three teams that land in the composite way-too-early Top 25: No. 8 Miami, No. 11. BYU and No. 21 SMU and all three come in the second half of the season, with two in November. That's a good thing. The BC-Purdue-Stanford-Rice inclusion is a little on the soft side. Agreed. North Carolina might be interesting, and there's a punch line in there somewhere I'm unwilling to tease out. As for the 1993 trophy, wouldn't it have been fun to have a playoff back then when so many said it couldn't be done?

3:01

As far as the assurance of being in the field at No. 12, I don't have a problem with it. It feels like a tradeoff for a Power 4 conference champ getting in regardless of ranking. That means an unranked Duke team would have been in the field under the new agreement. So since ND is not in a conference, being one of the top 12 teams seems fair. If they were guaranteed to be in at No. 14 or better, than I see where that is an issue. (more)

2:59

Lorne, I appreciate your compliments and your comments. Let's get to your questions. ... I think I can answer the recruiting rankings question without resorting to a phone-a-friend. Not because of how they rate ND players, but just in general, ESPN's rankings are kind of a punch line in the industry from people in it who have shared their opinions with me. That's a very consistent perception. I don't think they put a lot of resources into that, and it shows. (more)

Lorne

2:52

Lorne from Reno. Thank you for another season of great chats. Can't wait for spring practice. I noticed in the article about our abundance of 5-stars that for four of the five recruits ESPN's ratings were WAY lower than the other two services. It seems to me that this has been a trend over the years, with our class being graded lower by ESPN than the other services (though not as dramatically as is the case for these athletes). Any idea why? Also, I am used to people taking shots at ND, but I am bothered when the points are well taken: our schedule this year is embarrassing, as is the guaranteed berth if we are #12. I really wish they hadn't pushed for the latter one. Finally, on a point Marie made a few weeks ago, if head-to-head is THE factor for teams with the same number of losses, will FSU be sending us the 1993 national championship trophy?

Eric Hansen

2:52

Now, when the next time the job opens, could Mickens be ready to replace Ash, given where he is now and who he's learning from. I like this chances.

2:51

Tom. thanks and great question. And in this day and age, where the perception of a program is playoff or bust, it does change the calculus on coordinator hires. At a school like Notre Dame, can you endure growing pains? That's not just for Mickens, Let's take him out of the equation. Because the head coaching position so demands more of a CEO approach than it did even a few years ago before NIL/Rev share, Marcus Freeman and Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian for example can't be the elite fixers and safety nets they used to be. They really need their coordinators to be that. So if there is a missing tool in the toolbox, the risk becomes really daunting. (more)

Tom in Evanston

2:43

Hi Eric. Stay warm! In light of the Mickens departure and with wondering why Freeman didn't promote him to DC, is there a reason some coaches wouldn't move up to a coordinator level and be successful? We see it pretty often in pro football that a coordinator will bomb as a head coach. While talent level of the players may have the most to do with that, is there something about Mickens that would have made Freeman shy away from promoting him? And I mean something other than a toolbox that's not quite filled.

Eric Hansen

2:41

So you'll been good enough in the tight end room to bully teams that lack strength and size up front with three-TE sets. You'll also be able to go four wide with receivers that will make you regret trying to play man. And you'll have personnel groups and formations that fall in between those. CJ Carr will work to have chemistry with them all. And he'll be a better version of himself. For me, how the offensive line comes together and whether it really is more physical is the biggest "if" going into spring, even though I like a lot of the potential answers.

2:39

That doesn't necessarily mean spring. Spring is for experimentation and installation and testing and impressions more than it is conclusions. At least you know who the QB is, and that is a huge advantage. As for those position groups, there's confident there's plenty of talent and that it can be developed at both WRs and TEs, If it everything goes according to plan, ND will have two different looks to exploit mismatches (well actually more than two, but stay with me). (more)

2:36

Tom. Thanks for letting me know you are open to testing the rescinding of the no drinking rule. Warm temps? In South Bend. And don't give me any of this groundhog business. That guy is wrong more than he's right. ... OK to your questions. I have NEVER used DoorDash and the last time I had a pizza delivered was during the pandemic. You're going to find this hard to believe, but I cook for myself probably 95 percent of the time. And my grandkids kind of demand it. I'll offer to get them fast food and they pretend like they're not hungry until we're home and they want me to cook. ... Ok to real questions. As Mike Singer would say, it's the circle of life to have questions at this point. The key is to be more discerning in knowing the answers BEFORE the season starts. (more)

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

2:30

Hi Eric. I hope that you are surviving this winter blast of cold and snow in SB. So, did you use Door dash or just rely on your local pizza delivery service? It seems that both the TE room and Receivers have a lot of questions heading into spring ball. Lert's presume that there will still be questions heading into fall camp. Depending on which group answers those questions do you think that will determine what type of formations Denbrock will use the most? Also, how will the chemistry that Carr establishes with any individuals factor into those decisions? It just seems that despite a lot of talent on Offense, there are still a lot of questions to be answered. What are your thoughts here in late January? Best wishes for sunny days and warm temps. Go Irish!!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:30

Hi Terry!!!! Thank you. ... Colleagues Tyler Horka and Jack Soble recently did their projections for the offense and the defense, and I won't peek before giving you mind, But you may want to check theirs out. So, this is for Sept. 6 at Green Bay, Wis., not end of the season: DE 1. Traore, 2. L. Thomas | DT 1. Onye, 2. T. Gray | NG 1. Brewu, 2. Hughes | DE 1. B. Young 1A Keeley.

Terry from Cincinnati

2:22

Long time chat reader, look forward to it every week!!!! In the way to early depth chart category, going into the spring what is your two-deep for the defensive line? Thanks for the great coverage of the Irish.

Eric Hansen

2:22

Hi Ryan. That's something I haven't given a tone of thought to. I don't think it will be Blake Hebert as the primary guy, because he's really going to be in the thick of the backup QB competition. My sense if would be one of the other specialists, like Jasper Scaife if he doesn't win the punter's job for instance. I'll be looking for that early in spring and let you know. I figure there will be several people who get a shot at it, since there will be three kickers competing for that job. And I do think between Chris Ash being back for a second years as coordinator, the DB talent and the high interest in the DBs coaching job, the Irish will be strong in the back end.

Ryan Frankfort Illinois

2:18

Good Afternoon Eric who will be holding the Kicks during the season since Tyler Buchner Won’t be back i think it should be Blake Herbert or someone else also i think the defensive backs will have a Good Season even without mickens i think Moore Gray Shuler and all the others will Do Good GO IRISH ☘️☘️☘️🏈🏈🏈

Eric Hansen

2:17

I'll take it!!!

Matt from Austin

2:17

Nice play E!!!!! Keurig just called and they're sending you $10!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:17

It's like sometimes when I'm in the grocery store -- and this actually happens more than you'd think -- people ask me what aisle something is in, like I work there. And funny enough, I usually know.

2:15

Hi Jack. Thanks for the compliments. You are right MBB is out of my lane and something I only have the bandwidth to follow peripherally. Tyler James and Jack Soble would have better answers. Empty seats do not surprise me. I don't think this is a make-or-break year for Micah Shrewsberry, but you think that would be on the horizon. If you email me, I can give you a better answer from one of my colleagues. I just don't travel in those circles with paying attention to football, WBB, baseball and men's lacrosse.

Jack, Strongsville, Oh

2:11

Hi Eric. Since the 2025 football season has ended I want to thank you and Tyler for your great coverage this past year. I know you don't cover the MBB beat but I have a question. I was watching the ND-Va game last evening and noticed how empty the Joyce Center was. I know weather was bad in South Bend yesterday but there appears to be extreme apathy among fans and students alike. Do you see it and what can change?

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