It's official. The Cincinnati Bengals plan to hire a familiar face to be their new defensive coordinator. Al Golden is the guy who will be tasked with improving Cincinnati's defense and helping to lead the team back to postseason play.
Bengals to hire Al Goden as their new defensive coordinator
Golden interviewed with the Bengals on Wednesday, and is expected to sign with the team on Thursday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The #Bengals are finalizing a deal with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden, who is expected to be in Cincinnati on Thursday to officially sign on as DC, sources tell The Insiders.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 22, 2025
Golden spent two seasons as Bengals LBs coach before joining the Irish. Now, a reunion. pic.twitter.com/9vE6SAof7U
Bengals fans should already be familiar with Golden, who most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Prior to joining Notre Dame in 2022, Golden served as the Bengals' linebacker coach (2020-2021). So, he has experience working under head coach Zac Taylor.
The Bengals respectfully waited until after Golden's season with Notre Dame came to a conclusion before discussing the coordinator job with him, and it ultimately ended with a 34-23 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Championship game. Once the two sides finally came into contact, talks progressed quickly, and now Golden is back in the NFL.
The Bengals needed a new coordinator after parting ways with Lou Anarumo after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for a second consecutive season, due in large part to poor play on the defensive side of the ball. Anarumo was in the role for six seasons, and it didn't take him long to find a new home, as he was recently hired as the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts.
A couple of other candidates were interviewed for the role, including New England Patriots defensive coordinator Demarcus Covington and Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, but Golden quickly emerged as the favorite. His familiarity with the organization and the success that he had at the collegiate level were likely major contributing factors in his hire.