Report | Al Golden Headed to the Cincinnati Bengals
Notre Dame will officially be in the market for a new defensive coordinator as Al Golden has accepted the same position with the future Super Bowl champions, Cincinnati Bengals, per Pete Thamel and ISD sources have confirmed the same.
Golden served as the Bengals linebackers coach for two seasons in 2020 and 2021 and was part of the team that went to the Super Bowl before accepting the defensive coordinator position when Marcus Freeman took over as head coach for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame saw its defense reach exceptional heights under Golden’s three seasons with the program and it was highlighted by an appearance in Monday’s National Championship game.
In 2024, Notre Dame’s defense was No. 2 in the country in scoring defense (14.2 ppg), No. 9 in total defense (298.3 ypg), No. 5 in third down defense (.298), No. 2 in passing defense (165.3 ypg), No. 1 in passing efficiency defense (99.50), No. 8 in red zone defense (.718) and No. 5 in turnover margin (1.13).
Golden, who is 55, will be tasked with turning around one of the worst defenses in NFL history. The Bengals set some incredible marks for playing horrific football in 2024.
When scoring 33 points on offense, the rest of the NFL went 79-7. The Bengals went 3-4. Cincinnati started the season 0-7 against teams with winning records despite averaging 30.3 points per game. They experienced a stretch of going 0-3 while the offense totaled 99 points (34, 34, 44).
Freeman will now look to make a significant hire, and it will likely start with cornerbacks and safety coach Mike Mickens, who has proven he’s one of the top assistant coaches in America.
The Al Golden File
1993 Red Bank Catholic HS Offensive Coordinator
1994-96 Virginia Graduate Assistant
1997-99 Boston College Linebackers
2000 Penn State Linebackers
2001-05 Virginia Defensive Coordinator
2006-10 Temple Head Coach
2011-15 Miami (FL) Head Coach
2016-17 Detroit Lions Tight Ends
2018-19 Detroit Lions Linebackers
2020-21 Cincinnati Bengals Linebackers
2022-23 Bob Hinton Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2024 Bob Hinton Defensive Coordinator
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