Notre Dame is in the market for a defensive coordinator.

After three top notch seasons at the helm of the Irish defense, Al Golden has informed Notre Dame that he is departing to become defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday. The Bengals formally announced Golden’s hiring on Thursday.

Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Golden was the linebackers coach with the Bengals in 2020 and 2021 and helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl. His return to Cincinnati was highly anticipated.

Since the firing of Brian VanGorder during the 2016 season, Notre Dame has had incredible success with defense coordinators. First it was Mike Elko (now head coach at Texas A&M), then Clark Lea (now head coach at Vanderbilt), then Marcus Freeman (now head coach at Notre Dame) and Golden (now defensive coordinator in the NFL).

Golden’s defense was among the nation’s best and a huge reason the Irish made it all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Notre Dame gave up just 14.2 points per game in 2024, ranking the Irish as the 2nd best scoring defense in the country. They were also one of the nation’s leaders in turnover margin and red zone defense.

Golden was a critical hire for Marcus Freeman when Freeman was promoted to head coach in 2022. With it being Freeman’s first head coaching job, Golden provided a veteran presence with head coaching experience on staff that Freeman could bounce ideas off of if needed. Golden was previously head coach at Temple & Miami.

Defensive backs coach Mike Mickens should be a top contender for the position. With the Irish coming off a 14-2 season and national runner up appearance, there could be some big name outside interest in the job as well for Marcus Freeman to consider.

The news of Golden’s departure comes two days after Notre Dame lost to Ohio State 34-23 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. He is not the only member of the Notre Dame program to depart on Wednesday.

Offensive lineman Sam Pendleton, who started seven games for the Irish in 2024, announced he would enter the transfer portal. Notre Dame will return every single offensive lineman next year so it’s understandable there may be some departures in that room.

Senior wide receivers Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie, both of whom already have their degrees from Notre Dame, are also entering the portal. Thomas and Colzie saw significantly more playing time early in their careers compared to in 2024.