The Cincinnati Bengals are in Madrid, Spain, preparing for their matchup against the Atlanta Falcons and taking in the local culture and cuisine during their downtime.
Hopefully, the coaching staff is spending more time on the game plan and positioning the players to succeed. Especially Al Golden, whose defense has surrendered back-to-back career-best games to Tyler ’Snoop’ Huntley and Cam Ward.
Nevertheless, Golden still has fans in the national media as one voice hopes, for a couple of reasons, that the Bengals fall flat on their whiskers.
Smetana wants Bengals collapse, Golden back at Notre Dame
Meadowlark Media’s Jessica Smetana made her weekly appearance on their flagship show, The Dan LeBatard Show, where she reiterated her disdain for one franchise while praising the former defensive coordinator of her alma mater.
When discussing her skepticism of Notre Dame’s defense with the pro-Miami Hurricanes crowd that is the Dan LeBatard Show ahead of their Saturday matchup, Smetana tounge-in-cheekishly states, “I think there’s just been a lot of lapses on a defensive side that, frankly, I wish nothing but ill on the Cincinnati Bengals for the rest of the year so that Al Golden comes back because I think that he had a little bit better grasp of like, playing into the strengths of the personnel on the field.”
Smetana’s declaration was met with a nether-regional chuckle from producer and co-host Mike Ryan, who offered his own landing spot for Golden when he says, “Al Golden would make such a great head coach for FSU. So as much as you’d like to see him return there, I think Tallahassee is the pipeline.”
Golden had two head coaching stops at Temple and Miami. After several years as a position coach in the NFL, including a stint as linebacker coach with the Bengals, he returned to Notre Dame, where he served as defensive coordinator for the Irish team that surrendered 34 points to The Ohio State in the 2025 national championship game.
Whether it’s with Notre Dame, Florida State, or an NFL franchise, Golden would probably love another shot at becoming a head coach and running his own program rather than returning to college as a defensive coordinator. If he leaves Cincinnati for a lateral move, he may prefer that opportunity in the professional ranks rather than in college.
Be careful what you wish for
Golden became the Bengals’ defensive coordinator before the confetti stopped falling in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2025. But while Lou Anarumo took the fall, the scoring and yards against Cincinnati’s defense haven’t.
Smetana should be careful what she wishes for with Al Golden. He could very well find himself back in South Bend under less-than-optimal circumstances.
The Bengals had one of the worst defenses last season, giving up the third-most points and second-most yards in 2025. This year, they've improved substantially, yet their 360 yards allowed per game still ranks 26th. However, they allow 22.6 points per game, ranking 14th.
So while Smetana has fond memories of a run that culminated in a 2025 championship game appearance that had not happened since 2012, she may not want Golden back just yet.
Smetana wants Golden in South Bend, Bengals to suffer
Regardless of how the Bengals’ season turns out, Golden could be on his way out of Cincinnati. However, we should all hope it’s for the right reasons, not because of failure.
Wishing the Bengals ill wasn’t exactly a subtle hint at how she feels about the franchise. That is because being a Notre Dame fan isn’t the only reason that Smetana wants Cincinnati to fall flat for the rest of the season.
Along with being a lover of all things Notre Dame, Smetana is also a homer, err, die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Perhaps the only thing she loves more is her dog, Willow.
If the Bengals fall off as Smetana hopes for, the coaching staff will get their walking papers. However, if they succeed, the coordinators will be in line for other coaching jobs. In that case, if Golden is interested in returning to college, the Golden Domers could offer him the role and sell it as a positive rather than an appearance of crawling back to college.
But if the Bengals suddenly fall out of contention, then that would, of course, help Smetana’s Steelers win the AFC North title, along with freeing up Golden to land anywhere, including Notre Dame. Let them eat cake and have it too, as the French would say.
Some in Bengaldom would love nothing more than for Al Golden to move on at the end of the season. That would imply a successful season in which the Bengals are competing for a Super Bowl and other teams are pursuing Golden rather than wishing the team ill.
It would also mean that Smetana’s beloved Steelers are not the division champs, so there’s that.
You can catch Smetana, with all her college football expertise, on the Dan Lebatard Show, co-hosting the College Football Happy Hour Podcast with the wonderful Lucy Rohden and The Echoes, a Notre Dame podcast she hosts with Mike Golic Jr. (he works hard).
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