Al Washington "An Exciting Hire" For Notre Dame

Marcus Freeman is familiar with Al Washington, which is why it wasn’t surprising to see the Notre Dame head coach move fast in going after Washington to replace Mike Elston as the Irish’s defensive line coach.

While things unfolded quickly, by virtually all accounts, it should be considered a home run hire.

Freeman and Washington coached together at Cincinnati in 2017, when Washington coached the Bearcats’ defensive line when Freeman was defensive coordinator.

Washington then went on to coach linebackers for a season at Michigan before spending the last three seasons working as Ohio State’s linebackers coach.

“I think it's an exciting hire,” Kevin Noon of BuckeyeScoop.com told Irish Sports Daily. “Al Washington certainly is a well-regarded coach. Let's not forget that he was a heartbeat away from being the Tennessee DC.”

Indeed, Washington was a top candidate to become the Volunteers’ defensive coordinator less than a year ago.

“Ohio State was able to keep him,” Noon continued.

Noon described Washington as “very much a players’ coach.”

“He's under 40 years old, so he's able to identify very well with the players,” Noon said. “It's very much, 'I'm going to lead by example, even though I'm not out there physically playing.' He's a very dynamic guy who just really earns the respect of his guys. I think they see him as a strong leader.”

That should play well on the recruiting trail as well.

“He's well-rooted within the Midwestern region,” Noon said of Washington, an Ohio native. “Recruits love him.”

This past cycle alone, Washington played a role in helping the Buckeyes land top talent like CJ Hicks, Sonny Styles, Gabe Powers, Cody Simon and Reid Carrico as well as playing a part in landing Jack Sawyer and TreVeyon Henderson before that.