Tag: Al Golden

Bengals feel like only NFL team capable of poaching Al Golden from Notre Dame

Were the Bengals the only team capable of making this happen?

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to lure defensive coordinator Al Golden away from Notre Dame.

And they might’ve been the only team capable of doing it.

Golden impressed onlookers during his introduction early this week. Naturally, one of the bigger talking points about his arrival was that it technically served as a return.

Golden, after all, had previously coached linebackers under Zac Taylor and didn’t sell his home when he left town.

RELATED: Bengals reveal coaching hires — and one comes with a twist

“I got in the care at 5 a.m. on Thursday, and when I made that right off (I-75) and saw the stadium, I knew I was home,” Golden said. “He keeps telling me to take a break, but I’m so energized by this opportunity.”

The theme prompted reactions such as this from Notre Dame reporter Jack Soble: “Always need to approach pressers with a certain level of skepticism, but based on this, I don’t know if Al Golden would’ve taken an NFL DC job that wasn’t the Bengals. His family stayed in Cincinnati when he was at Notre Dame. He feels at home there (not that he didn’t at ND).”

There was some question about whether Golden would want to leave such a prestigious spot as Notre Dame at all — and perhaps only the Bengals made it possible.

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Bengals coach makes bold claim about developing players

Al Golden isn’t about to let one of the Bengals’ biggest problems continue.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden made some waves in his introductory press conference with the team on Monday.

He followed that up with some impressive interviews, too.

Perhaps most notable was Golden’s chat with WCPO’s Caleb Noe, where he addressed one of the biggest problems with the Bengals in recent years — developing players.

“We’re not drafting them to sit next to us,” Golden told Noe. “That might be our number one job.”

RELATED: Bengals grab a fast-rising ‘disruptor’ in expert’s first mock draft

Player development has been a massive problem for the Bengals. Recent first-rounder Myles Murphy wasn’t getting run over Sam Hubbard. Defensive backs like Jordan Battle and Cam Taylor-Britt couldn’t get on the field or were erratic on it.

By far the most notorious example, Dax Hill, was selected as the Jessie Bates replacement, only to eventually shift to cornerback.

The exact how and why of these problems under Lou Anarumo is hard to say, but Golden is setting the expectation that the issue will go away — and fast.

 

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Al Golden tells Bengals fans exactly what they want to hear about biggest probem

Al Golden has a plan to aggressively attack Bengals’ biggest problem.

New Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden held his introductory press conference on Monday and revealed much about his immediate plans for the spring and into summer.

A single point, though, sticks out above all else.

One of the unsaid things Golden will be tasked with fixing is Cincinnati’s horrific early-season starts. He explained that energy and attention to details, plus more challenging spring sessions, are the key.

Those things, plus making sure a diverse playbook and set of tools that will last an entire season gets installed: “If you want the guys to play fast, just be highly organized, be able to pull things that can help you.”

RELATED: Bengals grab a fast-rising ‘disruptor’ in expert’s first mock draft

Before Monday, Golden sat down with Dan Hoard and also relayed plans to fix the issue.

“That’s kind of an in-house thing, like, what do we need to do in-house wise to solve that problem?” Golden said. “Because obviously, that’s a sensitive subject in terms of we all know that that’s something that will be on the docket this offseason in terms of starting faster. But in terms of giving you ideas. I think it’s best to keep that in-house and work through Zac on that.”

Under Zac Taylor, the Bengals defense has routinely struggled to start seasons, particularly when it comes to fundamentals such as tackling.

Taylor himself has changed up the offseason plan in recent years in an attempt to fix this, with injury mitigation balanced against real-game performance still a riddle he’s attempting to solve.

Golden, though, clearly leans one direction over the other, so expect to see it play out on the field soon this spring.

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Al Golden has kind words for Notre Dame as he’s introduced as Cincinnati’s DC

Golden was a bit emotional about his time in South Bend

For some coaches, when they leave for another job, you don’t quite see them be complimentary to their last home, but for former Notre Dame defensive coordinator [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag], that wasn’t the case.

It wasn’t easy for him to make the decision to return to the NFL, where he took the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator position. On Monday, Golden was introduced in his new role, and went out of his way to compliment the Irish.

He thanked head coach Marcus Freeman, athletic directors Pete Bevacqua and Jack Swarbrick, along with all of the players. Golden got a chance to sit down with as many players as he could face-to-face, and the ones he didn’t spoke with on the phone.

Golden was thankful for being able to make history with Notre Dame, and its seems like he very much enjoyed his time with the Irish as this clip of him speaking kindly was shared by On3’s Tyler Horka.

Cincinnati Bengals new defensive coordinator Al Golden speaks to the media at Paycor Stadium on Monday, January 27, 2025. Golden returns to Cincinnati after being the defensive coordinator for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Previously he was the Bengals linebacker coach from 2020-21.

Golden was fantastic in his time with the Irish, and most Notre Dame fans will be rooting him on as he starts his tenure with the Bengals.

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Bengals players echo familiar theme after Al Golden’s arrival

This one topic keeps coming up when anyone talks about the Bengals defense.

One theme has ruled above most others when it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals and the defensive coordinator spot over the last few months — simplicity.

Before he was let go, Bengals players noted that Lou Anarumo’s simplifying things fueled some of the late-season success for the unit.

Now, players like Logan Wilson are looking forward to Golden keeping things simple, too.

“He’s really on the details. He expects a lot from you and just how he goes about his business and how he works. You kind of want to replicate that in your own way,” Wilson said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “He allowed things to be simpler when he was with us, and so I feel like that’s why we were able to play fast and I’m sure he’ll be doing some similar stuff that we used to run. He will have his little nuances in the system. He obviously had that Notre Dame defense cooking.”

RELATED: Bengals’ contract extension with Ja’Marr Chase gets stunning $145M projection

Many factors went into the Bengals making a change at the coordinator spot. But the complexity of the defense potentially playing a role in high draft assets like Myles Murphy and even Jordan Battle being able to develop might’ve played a role.

A proven player developer after his work with the linebacker room in the past, Golden arrives with playbook changes on the way and what sounds like a friendlier scheme.

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Notre Dame football loses key recruiting architect to bitter rival

Notre Dame loses a key off-field part of the football operation.

As if Notre Dame fans didn’t already have enough reason to hate USC.

The Trojans hired [autotag]Chad Bowden[/autotag], the Fighting Irish football program’s general manager, on Friday.

Yes, the award-winning Chad Bowden.

Notre Dame kept Michigan at bay when the Wolverines angled for Bowden’s services, but the Trojans swooped in with a reported multiyear offer of more than $1 million a year.

It’s apparently a big pay bump. Bowden was said to be earning about $300,000 per year at Notre Dame.

The Irish promoted Bowden, the son of longtime MLB executive Jim Bowden, from recruiting director to assistant athletic director for player personnel before this season.

He initially came to Notre Dame from Cincinnati along with current Irish coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] in January 2021 to be the recruiting coordinator for the defense.

If it seems like Notre Dame is losing a lot of key pieces of its team as defensive coordinator [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag] and key players like Pat Coogan depart, it’s also important to remember the Irish raked in a lot of money from the deep playoff run and have intriguing transfers coming in.

Still, this one might end up hurting significantly.

Jan. 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) receives the snap during the third quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes in. the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. James Lang-Imagn Images

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Underrated strength made Al Golden a no-brainer for Bengals

This detail about Al Golden to the Bengals doesn’t get talked about much, but is really interesting.

New Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden arrives with some key strengths of his own. 

His predecessor, Lou Anarumo, had an almost uncanny ability to throw out a by-the-opponent amoeba defense and give quarterbacks as Patrick Mahomes fits.

Golden, after a stint at Notre Dame, has a rather unique strength of his own, as pointed out by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

What also makes Golden attractive to the NFL is Notre Dame plays an independent slate of teams, meaning they have to be ready for every kind of offense rather than cookie-cutter schemes that fit into a league.

RELATED: Bengals’ approach to hiring Al Golden draws mixed reviews

There’s a degree to where this will be helpful for the Bengals and Golden. Bonus points, of course, because he was already on staff with the Bengals and knows the AFC North well, too.

Golden has other things going for him, of course. He had a proven track record for developing talent in Cincinnati as the linebackers coach of Logan Wilson and others.

That built-in understanding of Zac Taylor and all levels of the Bengals doesn’t hurt either, which explains why it feels like the team never had sights on another serious candidate.

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Bengals’ playbook will see some changes under new DC Al Golden

Details on formations and changes to the playbook for the Bengals under Al Golden.

One of the biggest reasons the Cincinnati Bengals went back to Al Golden, this time as a defensive coordinator, is due to the hope his proximity to college players and past work in the NFL equates to rapid player development. 

But that doesn’t mean Golden won’t leave his mark with a playbook of his own, either.

While there will be some similarities to Lou Anarumo’s playbook, such as the base nickel 4-2, he told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com that other parts of the playbook will be ripped up and redone.

RELATED: Bengals’ approach to hiring Al Golden draws mixed reviews

“Certain parts will,” Golden told Hobson. “There are some things I’m really familiar with and there are certain things that we want to go in a different direction.

“At the end of the day, I have to be comfortable with it and the defensive staff has to be comfortable with it. We’ll build that together … If there’s no reason to change the way the kids can understand it, there’s no ego. There’s no reason to change it just to change it.”

From the sounds of it, in traditional running situations, the Bengals will still have four down linemen. But the 4-2 nickel will still be the most common look due to the sheer volume of passing around the league now.

No matter the formation, the Bengals will need to acquire more talent for Golden while hoping that he, in turn, can quickly develop names like Myles Murphy.

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Cincinnati Bengals announce Al Golden as next defensive coordinator

The Bengals make it official with Al Golden.

The Cincinnati Bengals made it official with new defensive coordinator Al Golden on Thursday.

“Al is a very highly regarded coach, and we are excited to welcome him back to the Bengals as defensive coordinator,” head coach Zac Taylor said in the announcement. “He understands football at every level and has had great success as a coordinator, position coach and head coach. Al has a great football mind and will bring a smart, physical, aggressive approach to our defense.”

RELATED: Bengals’ approach to hiring Al Golden draws mixed reviews

Golden was the predictable end result of a brief search for Lou Anarumo’s replacement by Zac Taylor. His past work as a linebackers coach in Cincinnati for the 2020 and 2021 seasons made him an obvious favorite, with Notre Dame’s trip to the national title game the only thing holding up the process.

After droves of issues developing younger players over the last few seasons, the Bengals hope Golden is the answer while the team sits in win-now mode.

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Bengals’ approach to hiring Al Golden draws mixed reviews

Is this a good hire, but also “same old Bengals” territory, too?

The Cincinnati Bengals plan to hire a new defensive coordinator with Al Golden this week, yet the process has come under fire.

While Zac Taylor and the Bengals’ familiarity with Golden and vice versa is a good thing and might be the right fit right now, it’s hard to blame those onlookers who feel that the process itself was an issue.

Taylor and the Bengals, after all, like to stick with coaches they know and smaller coaching trees, as opposed to looking outside the organization. Golden had already coached in Cincinnati under Taylor, and the fact he’s still neighbors with Taylor is a talking point making the rounds.

RELATED: Orlando Brown Jr. provides injury update

It doesn’t help the perception of the hiring that the Bengals appeared to have one of the hottest coaching openings in some time on a likely Super Bowl contender, should the defense improve. Taylor and Co. responded by, at least publicly, interviewing just a few candidates, none of whom seemed to have an actual legitimate shot at the job, should Golden want it.

Hence, the long list of reactions, which, when summarized, amount to it could work out great, but the process was “same old Bengals.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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