Notre Dame has officially elevated defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman into the head coaching role.

This move comes just days after Brian Kelly made the stunning decision to take the head coaching job at LSU. Freeman and Kelly’s other assistant coaches have opted to remain in South Bend.

Here’s Freeman’s official introduction to Notre Dame players, courtesy of strength coach Matt Balis:

Freeman was about to finish his first season as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. He previously served in that role for Cincinnati and is a former Ohio State standout at linebacker. He’s also spent time at Purdue and Kent State during his coaching career.

The 35-year-old earned the job over several potential top candidates. Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell were potentially set to be options before Notre Dame decided to promote Freeman.

Now, Freeman takes over a team who still has a chance to win this season’s National Championship. The Fighting Irish enter this week at No. 6 in the rankings and could find their way into the College Football Playoff if things break right for them on Championship Saturday.