Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden did not confirm or deny his interest in the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator position, which is currently open. During media availability for his side’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game appearance on Saturday, Golden refused to be drawn on whether he should be considered a candidate for the job.
Al Golden Does Not Dispute Interest in Bengals Defensive Coordinator Role
Golden, the former Miami Hurricanes head coach, did not deny reports he has an interest in the Bengals job.
“At the end of the day, this is not the time or the place. This is about the kids,’ Golden said Saturday. “There’s always time to reflect on all of that after the season.”
Notre Dame’s Al Golden was asked Saturday about his interest in the Bengals DC job.
“At the end of the day, this is not the time or the place. This is about the kids. There’s always time to reflect on all of that after the season.”
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Golden is getting ready to coach in the most important game of his life. The Fighting Irish play the Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday night looking to secure a college football national title for the first time since 1988. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the job he didn’t have.
“I think the biggest thing right now, it’s humbling that your name is mentioned because of the team success or the success of our defense,” Golden said. “It’s a reflection of Mike Mickens or Max Bullough, Al Washington, all of those things.”
Golden wants his Fighting Irish defense to focus on the task ahead of them. He does not want them to think of anything else.
“The biggest thing for us right now is just understanding the enormity of this game. And as I said to the players, really when this thing started, it’s really hard. Like, we played Indiana, the game finished — I’m looking at Sarah back here — but she made me do the media afterward,” Golden said. “I got home at 1:00 o’clock, but I wasn’t going to change my schedule the next day. And I told the players why.”
Golden has coached in the NFL before. In fact, he was the Bengals linebackers coach from 2020-2021. He was also a coach with the Detroit Lions prior to that. While he wouldn’t discuss a potential return to the NFL level, his refusal to quash the rumors might speak more loudly than anything he did say on Saturday afternoon.
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