CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals announced on Thursday that Al Golden had been hired as defensive coordinator, officially reuniting with the team.
Before joining Notre Dame, where he served as defensive coordinator for three years, Golden coached the Bengals’ linebackers in 2020 and 21.
The day after Notre Dame’s 34-23 defeat to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship game, he conducted the interview on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Golden notified Marcus Freeman, the coach of Notre Dame, of his choice.
In a statement, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said, “We are thrilled to welcome Al back to the Bengals as defensive coordinator. He is a very highly regarded coach.” He has had tremendous success as a coordinator, position coach, and head coach and is well-versed in football at all levels. Al will contribute a shrewd, combative, and physical style to our defense and has an excellent football sense.
Lou Anarumo, who oversaw Cincinnati’s defense for six seasons, is replaced by Golden. On Monday, Anarumo was appointed defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.
Despite finishing 9-8 and on a five-game winning streak, Cincinnati missed out on a postseason berth for the second consecutive year. The defense was one of the main causes of that.
The Bengals scored at least 30 points in four of their losses. In addition to giving up a score on 67.9% of opponents’ red zone possessions—the third-worst percentage in the NFL—the defense gave up 414 points, which was sixth in the league.
With a scoring defense that gave up only 14.3 points per game, Notre Dame finished second in the Football Bowl Subdivision. At 298.3 yards per game, the Fighting Irish ranked eighth in the country for total defense. In the 2023 and 24 NFL drafts, six of the players Golden coached at Notre Dame were chosen.
The Bengals definitely have some skill on the unit, even if they were 25th in the league in total defense (348.3 yards allowed per game). Trey Hendrickson, an edge rusher, led the NFL in sacks (17 1/2) and was selected to the All-Pro team.
The cornerback 18 players had at least four interceptions, including safety Geno Stone and Cam Taylor-Britt, who tied for fifth place with 16 passes defended.
Golden’s greatest success has come in collegiate athletics, where he has held head coaching positions with Miami and the Temple Owls.
Golden has also coached in the NFL for four seasons with the Detroit Lions. Before switching to linebackers in 2018 and 2019, he was the tight ends coach in 2016 and 2017.
https://apnews.com/hub/nfl is the AP NFL.
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