Tag: Al Golden

Notre Dame defensive coordinator makes final cut for Broyles Award

Way to go, Al!

Notre Dame wouldn’t have made the College Football Playoff without its defense. That wouldn’t be possible without a solid defensive coordinator in [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag].

The Irish bet big on Golden by signing him to a four-year contract extension in the offseason. Golden has rewarded their faith and then some.

Now, Golden could be recognized nationally for his work as he has been named one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, which is given to the best assistant coach in college football. The winner will be announced at a ceremony Feb. 13.

Broyles fellow finalists also helped their teams make the playoff. Arizona State’s Marcus Arroyo is the only offensive coordinator who made the cut. The rest, all defensive coordinators, are Indiana’s Bryant Haines, Tennessee’s Tim Banks and Texas’ Pete Kwiatkowski.

Golden would be the second Irish assistant coach to win this award, joining [autotag]Bob Diaco[/autotag] in 2012. Let’s hope that comes to pass.

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Notre Dame DC Al Golden shares thoughts on USC rivalry

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden offered a memorable reference to the significance of USC versus Notre Dame.

On Saturday, USC football hosts Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Coliseum in a rivalry game with massive implications. Should the Irish win, they would all but certainly clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. If the Trojans were to pull off the upset, however, they could spoil the Irish’s season and potentially knock them out of the field. Earlier this week, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden was asked about his team’s level of intensity heading into the matchup.

“There’s nothing that needs to be said,” Golden said. “If you’re watching Godfather 2 and Hyman Roth is talking to Michael Corleone, you know what’s on in the background—it’s Notre Dame and USC. That’s all we got to say.”

Saturday will mark the 95th meeting between the Trojans and the Fighting Irish. The series dates all the way back to 1926, with USC holding a 38-51-5 record against their archrivals from the Midwest.

In recent years, however, the rivalry has been fairly lopsided. USC is just 1-5 against Notre Dame since 2017. The Trojans are hoping that 2924 will be the year their fortunes change.

Kickoff between USC and Notre Dane is set for 12:30 p.m. local time in LA on Saturday from the Coliseum.

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Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden nominated for Broyles Award

Congrats, Al!

The coaching ranks within Notre Dame have churned out some prominent names over the years. [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag]’s coaching career already was decades old when he was hired as [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s defensive coordinator in 2022. Fast forward to 2024, and the Irish have one of the best defenses in college football.

So it’s only fitting that the man behind that dominant defense be up for an award. Sure enough, Golden has been named one of 65 nominees for the Broyles Award, which is presented every year to college football’s best assistant coach. A Golden victory would be the second for the Irish and second for one of their defensive coordinators after [autotag]Bob Diaco[/autotag] in 2012.

Golden has a long way to go before he can start making space in his trophy case. He’s up against a large field, so the list eventually will be cut to 15 semifinalists and then five finalists before a winner is named. In the meantime, here’s Golden speaking about the Irish’s upcoming game with USC:

Here’s hoping the Irish prove again how fruitful being a coach for them can be.

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Could Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden take head coaching job in the near future?

This would complicate things for the Irish

When [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag] arrived in South Bend in 2022, many believed that his stay with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program would be fairly long.

He’s already had multiple opportunities as a head coach with Temple and Miami (FL), and after a few stints in the NFL, it seemed like he was content to return to college as a cooordinator. That may not be the case (subscription required) according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

Golden was named as a coach who could move on and take a head coaching position, even though he wasn’t named to Rittenberg’s top list. He was added in the coaches worth keeping an eye on section, as the ESPN analyst posed the biggest question for him: “does he want to lead a program in the portal/NIL era?”

His was last a head coach during the 2015 season, and college football has significantly changed since then. Not only would Golden have to deal with the transfer portal and NIL, he’d also have to contend with the new College Football Playoff format and an early signing period.

Apr 20, 2024; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Al Golden participates in warmups before the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

It remains to be seen if Golden would actually make a move away from Notre Dame, but there is always a possibility due to his great coaching background.

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Al Golden named college football’s ninth-best defensive coordinator

What do you make of this ranking?FL

As has been the case in years past, Notre Dame is expected to dominate on the defensive side of the ball. While the offense hopefully will be much improved compared to years past, defense remains a hallmark for the Irish. At the moment, it starts with defensive coordinator [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag], and the Irish are lucky to have him for the third straight season.

Big Game Boomer has been ranking college football players and coaches lately as he typically does on social media. The time has come for him to rank defensive coordinators, and Golden ranks in the top 10. In fact, he’s ninth:

The nice thing about this list is that Golden ranks ahead of every defensive coordinator he will coach against during the regular season. There’s no reason to think his unit will regress, especially with some future NFL talent under his wing. If the defense takes a step back in 2024, everyone will be asking him what went wrong, and it’s unlikely he intends to let that happen.

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Notre Dame makes top six for elite 2025 linebacker

Notre Dame makes the cut for a standout linebacker

Notre Dame has had their share of great linebackers recently but the skill across the position has often left a bit to be desired.

As [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag], [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag], and the rest of the Notre Dame work to improve that, they received good news on Sunday as one of their biggest remaining targets in the 2025 recruiting class announced the Fighting Irish in his top-six.

Notre Dame joined the likes of Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, and Stanford in Gavin Nix’s top-six.

247Sports has Nix pegged as a four-star player in the 2025 recruiting cycle and their 88th ranked player overall regardless of position.

Nix finished his junior season at national powerhouse IMG Academy with the second most tackles on the team with 42 total tackles.

Nix have given no indication when he will make his next cut or final decision as to where he’ll play college football.

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Notre Dame Football: Key Irish Assistant Inks Four Year Extension

A huge part of Notre Dame’s coaching staff is staying put!

A very key part of Notre Dame’s coaching staff is staying put as defensive coordinator Al Golden has inked a four year extension with the Fighting Irish.

The move was first reported by John Brice of Football Scoop.

Under Golden’s watch the last two years Notre Dame has produced one of the best defenses nationally.  The Irish defense is coming off a year where they allowed the seventh-fewest points in all of FBS football.

Although the move doesn’t guarantee Golden stays at Notre Dame for all four years, it certainly makes it harder for someone to come in and successfully poach him away.

My key takeaway from this extension coincides with the signing of Mike Denbrock earlier this off-season:

If you’re going to play big-time college football then you have to spend like a big-time college football program.  Notre Dame did that when getting Denbrock and certainly did that when extending Golden.

As much fun as it is to root for a mom and pop shop to succeed, winning big with that mentality in major college football simply doesn’t happen these days.

Notre Dame Athletics the Last Time the Detroit Lions Won A Playoff Game

Where were you in January of 1992?

One of the longest streaks in professional sports ended Sunday night as the Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams in what was their first playoff win since January 5, 1992.

The Lions now head to the divisional round where they’ll take on either the Philadelphia Eagles or Tampa Bay Buccaneers next weekend.

But just how long is 32 years in terms of sports?

Let’s take a look at a few of the things that were going on at Notre Dame at that time and where some key figures in the Fighting Irish athletic program were back then.

Buckle up and get in your time machine because here we go…

Notre Dame assistant a possibility for Syracuse head coach opening?

A Notre Dame assistant coach is rumored to be in the running for the Syracuse opening. Here is what he said about that possibility Monday.

The college football coaching carousel is starting to really get moving.  Although the regular season didn’t see many coaches lose jobs early on, the firings have become more regular in recent days.

One job that will be open in a matter of days is the Syracuse football head coach job.  Dino Babers has held that post since 2016 and has finished with a winning record just twice during his run.

The 5-6 Orange will be moving on from him following their regular season finale against Wake Forest on Saturday.  Could the opening be one that pulls a prominent Notre Dame assistant coach away from South Bend?

Defensive coordinator Al Golden has had success on the east coast, specifically at Temple, where he put life into what had been a dead program.  Success there led him to getting the Miami job starting in 2011.  Could Golden be headed back to the ACC?

He was asked about it Monday by Tyler Horka of Blue-Gold Illustrated.  Here is what Golden said:

If you’re looking for a hard no, that response certainly doesn’t give it.

I have no idea if Golden is going to get offered the job, if he’s seriously interested in it, or what is going to happen.

What I do know is that when you have success as a unit then services are wanted by other programs.  I do appreciate Golden not coming out in full denial and then leaving a few weeks down the road, although I wouldn’t be surprised if he did ultimately go.