As the offseason for college football and the NFL gets closer and closer for most teams, rumors start flying around and Notre Dame is not immune to that, unfortunately in this case.

Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden has been a revelation since taking the role in 2022 as head coach Marcus Freeman’s first hire at the position.

Golden was hired away from the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, where he coached linebackers for the 2020/21 football season. In the 2023 season at Notre Dame, according to FightingIrish.com,

“The Irish defense finished off the 2023 season as one of the top units in the country. Notre Dame ranked first the country in pass efficiency defense (94.91), second in red zone defense (.706), fourth in pass yards allowed (154.2) and eighth in total defense (282.9).”

On top of posting tremendous numbers while leading one of the nation’s best defenses, Golden has played a massive role in the development of Notre Dame defensive stars such as Benjamin Morrison, Rylie Mills and Xavier Watts, who won the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s top defender, tallying a nation-high seven interceptions in the 2023 campaign.

All of this is to say that Golden leaving would be a tremendous loss for the Notre Dame program and there are rumours swirling that he could return to the Bengals to be their defensive coordinator. The position is currently vacant, due to Cincinnati firing former defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

The Bengals have yet to truly focus in on a candidate since Anarumo’s firing on January 6, leading many to think that they are locked in on bringing Golden back for a reunion of sorts after how well he has done at Notre Dame.

If Golden does elect to move on to the NFL, you’d hope his last game coaching at Notre Dame would be winning the national championship on January 20.