Two days after the Fighting Irish lost in the national championship game to Ohio State, they lost Al Golden, who will become Bengals defensive coordinator.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday afternoon that Golden, the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame this season, has informed the school of his decision to join the Bengals.

Al Golden agreed to return to Cincinnati on Wednesday after three seasons as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. More: 3 Wolverines, 3 ex-Spartans make ESPN list of top 100 college football players from '24-25

The Dolphins are scheduled to play a home game in the upcoming season against Cincinnati, though one of their home games will be played in Spain.

Al Golden may very well be the cure to what has been ailing the Cincinnati Bengals defensively. In the wake of him leaving Zac Taylor's staff to become Marcus F

That’s a big change from what Colts fans saw under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who was let go as his contract expired. Bradley didn’t blitz often, relying instead on his base defense and familiar formations each week.

A native of Colts Neck, N.J., Golden played tight end at Penn State from 1988-91, then spent the 1992 season with the New England Patriots (no games played). He earned a bachelor’s degree in pre-law from Penn State in 1991, and a master’s degree in sports psychology from Virginia in 1996.

The Cincinnati Bengals are hiring former position coach Al Golden as their new defensive coordinator, NFL Network and ESPN reported Wednesday. Golden is expected in Cincinnati on Thursday to officially sign,

Notre Dame (14-2) led the nation with 33 takeaways, scored six defensive touchdowns and led all Power Four teams in turnover margin (plus-18).

The Cincinnati Bengals hired Notre Dame's Al Golden as their new defensive coordinator, the team announced Thursday.