Golden, 55, was coming off a national championship appearance with Notre Dame in his third season in South Bend.
Here are five things to know about the Bengals’ new defensive coordinator:
1. Playing career
Golden, a native of Colts Neck, N.J., was a three-year letterwinner and tight end for Penn State University from 1989 through 1991, playing under Joe Paterno. He won the 1991 Ridge Riley Award, given annually to a player who displays excellence in scholarship, sportsmanship, friendship and leadership.
As a senior, he served as team captain and helped lead the Nittany Lions to a No. 3 ranking in the final AP Poll and a Fiesta Bowl win over Tennessee to finish 11-2.
Golden played one year in the NFL with the New England Patriots in 1992 before getting into coaching.
2. Coaching background
After his playing career ended, Golden went back to his high school alma mater and served as Red Bank Catholic’s offensive coordinator in 1993, then became a graduate assistant coach at Virginia the following season. He continued climbing the ranks in college football, serving as linebackers coach at Boston College (1997-99) and Penn State (2000) before returning to Virginia as defensive coordinator from 2001 through 2005.
Golden’s big break came when he was hired as Temple’s head coach in 2006, taking over a program that went 3-31 the three seasons before his arrival and turning it around during a five-year stay. In his final two seasons, the Owls were a combined 17-8, good enough to land him the head coaching job at the University of Miami in 2011. The Hurricanes went 32-25 over his four seasons there before he joined the Detroit Lions’ staff as a tight ends coach in 2016.
Golden remained in that role for two seasons, then switched over to coaching the linebackers for the Lions for two years before joining Taylor’s staff in Cincinnati in 2020 in that same position. He left the Bengals after the 2021 season to become Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator.
3. Previous work with the Bengals
During his previous two years in Cincinnati, Golden played an integral role in revamping the linebacker group that played a major part in the team’s Super Bowl run in 2021. He was largely responsible for the early development of Germaine Pratt, who was drafted the year before Golden arrived, and 2020 draft pick Logan Wilson, who both went on to sign extensions at the end of their rookie deals.
Wilson had three interceptions as a rookie, including a pick with 28 seconds left to set up a game-winning field goal in the Divisional Round playoff at Tennessee, and Pratt had made a game-sealing interception in the final seconds of the previous round as the Bengals earned their first playoff win in 31 years.
Golden will now lead a defense that looks much different from the group he was a part of coaching back then. Key pieces of that Super Bowl team have moved on, including free safety Jessie Bates, defensive tackle D.J. Reader and cornerback Chidozie Awaziem, and the last two years, the Bengals have relied on several young draft picks to fill holes. Part of the lure of Golden for the DC job is his experience in the college ranks, where the Bengals will be once again relying on up-and-coming talent to rebuild the roster.
4. Success at Notre Dame
Golden’s defense at Notre Dame was among the best in college football the past two seasons, including ranking No. 9 in total defense, No. 2 in passing defense and scoring defense and No. 8 in red zone defense this past year.
That defense was a major reason for the team’s 13-game winning streak going into the national championship game, where the Fighting Irish came up short, 34-23, against Ohio State. Notre Dame had wins against Indiana, Georgia and Penn State in the first 12-team playoff edition and finished 14-2.
In the championship game, Notre Dame just couldn’t match up with the Buckeyes’ potent offense. The Irish uncharacteristically struggled on third downs, not getting a stop until midway through the third quarter after ranking as the No. 4 third-down defense in the country prior to Monday.
Golden is a candidate for the Broyles Award honoring the top college assistant coach in the country, which will be announced Feb. 13.
5. Style of play
Known for sporting a dress shirt, slacks and tie in school colors on the sidelines, Golden also brings a certain flair to his defense.
Notre Dame analyst Mike Golic Jr. called Golden’s defense “aggressive as hell and always prepared,” comparing Golden to former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who was recently hired as the New York Jets head coach.
Golden’s defenses were heavy on pressure (an area that needs work in Cincinnati) and moving players around up front. That also was the case with the Lions’ defense, which gave quarterbacks little time to get through reads and played a lot of man-to-man coverage.
The Bengals lacked much of a pass rush outside of Trey Hendrickson, and Golden will be tasked with finding the right pieces or development tools to help that come together in 2025. He comes at a time where he can have a large say in free agent decisions and draft picks, and he will also be bringing in a lot of his own assistants.
About the Author