Former Penn State tight end Al Golden is returning to the NFL, where he’ll be the Bengals’ defensive coordinator.
Per a report by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, Golden has accepted the Cincinnati job.
This will be his second stint with the Bengals.
Previously, Golden was the linebackers coach for Cincy, a job he held over the 2020-21 seasons.
After that, he retuned to the college ranks, where he became Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator.
This past season, he was a big reason Notre Dane made it to the national championship game. His unit ended the year ranked second in the country in scoring defense.
COULD THERE HAVE BEEN A REUNION?
08 October 2011: Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno answers questions from the media following a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA. The Penn State Nittany Lions would defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes 13-3.
Some Penn State fans felt that there was a chance Golden would return to his Alma Mater as the school’s defensive coordinator. The job became vacant last week when Tom Allen departed for the same position at Clemson. But there’s no evidence a reunion with Golden was close to happening. It’s seemed clear for a while that Golden would either stay with head coach Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame or return to the NFL.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.WHAT ABOUT THE PSU DC JOB?
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
So what about the Penn State defensive coordinator job? For whatever it’s worth, the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Equity and Human Resources has scheduled meetings for Friday, Jan. 24 and Monday, Jan. 27.
Could this mean Penn State is on the verge of hiring a defensive coordinator?
Who knows, and it’s certainly not a guarantee that this is the case.
When word got out that the trustees had scheduled meetings for Friday, Jan. 17, and Monday, Jan. 20, many thought this might be a sign that a hire was near. But that didn’t turn out to be the case, and the search is now going on 10 days. This is the second consecutive winter in which head coach James Franklin and company are searching for a defensive coordinator.
PSU opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 against Nevada at Beaver Stadium.
