Notre Dame has reportedly promoted defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach in place of Brian Kelly, who left the Fighting Irish for LSU this week.

Former Notre Dame walk-on running back Mick Assaf was the first to report the news, which was also stated by John Brice of Footballscoop, Matt Zenitz of On3 and Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic.

In addition, the Fighting Irish will retain offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who had an opportunity to leave Notre Dame and join Kelly at LSU, per Ross Dellenger of The Athletic:

Kelly opted to leave the Fighting Irish on Nov. 30 after wrapping up an 11-1 regular season despite a College Football Playoff appearance still being on the table. He signed a 10-year, $95 million contract with LSU to take over for Ed Orgeron.

The 60-year-old Massachusetts native enjoyed sustained success across 12 years at Notre Dame. He compiled a 113-40 overall record (though the NCAA vacated 21 wins from 2012 and 2013 due to violations), including seven seasons with double-digit wins. The program posted a more mundane 5-5 mark in bowl games, though.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said he was "not surprised" by Kelly's decision to leave and noted the program immediately received "a lot of outreach" about the open position.

"It's about the right candidate," Swarbrick told reporters at the time. "When we find the person we think is the right one to lead this program and have the right conversations with him, that's all that matters. If that happens tomorrow, or weeks from now, that's fine."

Swarbrick added the Fighting Irish were "perfectly prepared to move forward," based on the strong foundation put in place during the Kelly era.

Freeman is a former Ohio State linebacker who played one NFL season before retiring in 2010 because of a heart condition.

He's since emerged as one of the top defensive minds in the country during stints as an assistant with OSU, Kent State, Purdue, Cincinnati and Notre Dame. He spent the 2021 season as the Irish's defensive coordinator under Kelly.

Freeman's elevation to the top of the staff will mark his first head coaching opportunity and should give the program some valuable continuity after five straight seasons with at least 10 wins.

Now his focus will shift toward trying to help the Irish chase down their first national championship since 1988.