The Cincinnati Bengals have made Al Golden their new defensive coordinator.
A couple of weeks back, head coach Zac Taylor stated a preference for hiring coaches with an intimate knowledge of the AFC North.
Al Golden fits the bill, having served as Cincinnati’s linebackers coach in 2020 and 2021.
A solid resumé
Prior to Golden’s first stint with the team, he enjoyed four seasons with the Detroit Lions coaching tight ends and linebackers.
The decade before that was spent as the head coach of Temple and Miami universities.
Most recently, he has transformed Notre Dame’s defense. This season, the Fighting Irish allowed just 14.3 points per game, the second-fewest in college football, and led the country in takeaways.
On the back of Golden’s defensive unit, they reached last Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game.
They lost 34-23 to the juggernaut that is Ohio State, prompting some ridicule about the hire, but there was an obvious mismatch in talent to factor in.
Back in the Queen City
Now hired by Taylor for a second time, Golden returns to revamp a Bengals’ defence that consistently underperformed last season.
The hope is that he can rekindle the success he had with his linebacker group during Cincinnati’s Super Bowl run in 2021.
Luckily, with a high-octane offense already in place, he only needs the defense to play at an average level for the team to excel.
Golden should hit the ground running because his arrival is very much a homecoming. He is a known quantity to many of the players and staff, and understands how things work at Paycor Stadium.
And when he took the Notre Dame job in Indiana, his wife and kids never left Cincinnati. It is still home to him, prompting jokes that it will be the cheapest relocation in NFL history.
First on a short shortlist
Regardless of the end result, the hiring process that Cincinnati went through certainly raised some eyebrows.
Unlike the comprehensive searches conducted by other teams, the Bengals only interviewed two other candidates.
But it seems like Golden was always top of their list. They just had to wait for the college season to end before making the inevitable move.
Colleagues speak highly of Golden’s work ethic – he loves a 5:30am start – his attention to detail and his ability to develop players. That last attribute seems particularly pertinent, given the number of misfiring draft picks he has inherited.
The man appears confident in his own abilities too, which is just as well for Zac Taylor. The head coach’s seat was getting warm last year and his own job security may depend on the success of this appointment.
Hopes are high but only time will tell whether Al is the goose that lays the Golden egg… or just an egg.
