Miami's Former Head Coach Signs Extension With Notre Dame, Will Coach Against UM
Miami fans have fond memories of head coaches like Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, and Dennis Erickson, but there are some former UM leaders that Canes fans cannot stand and were even booing before they left the Canes.
One of them is currently coaching in South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That coach would be Al Golden, the current Irish defensive coordinator.
Miami fans do not like Notre Dame anyway as a rule, and Golden probably makes it worse. The UM versus ND rivalry was tremendous in the 1980s but concluded after the game in 1990.
The two teams did not begin to play again until 2010. In the most recent matchup in 2017, the Canes dominated the Irish by a score of 41-8. The game took place two seasons after the Miami administration parted ways with Golden. He only went 32 and 25 with the Hurricanes and an even worse 17 and 18 record inside the ACC.
Golden went to the NFL after leaving Coral Gables. Detroit would be his home with the Lions from 2016 through 2019, and then Cincinnati with the Bengals during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. After his two-year stint with Cincinnati, Golden came back to the college game to be with Marcus Freeman and the Irish.
Beginning in 2022, Golden is leading the Irish defensive efforts and now has a four-year contract extension that goes through 2027. That means he's going with ND when it travels down to play inside Hard Rock Stadium against the Hurricanes.
Miami will host Notre Dame in 2025, but that is not the original date of the matchup everyone expected. The Canes were going to head up North to play the Irish inside Notre Dame Stadium in 2024 but that game was pushed back.
Golden did help the Irish be one of the nation's top 2023 defensive units which by only allowing 276.3 yards per game, good for #5 in the nation. With the offensive talent the Hurricanes are recruiting, the 2025 matchup between the Canes and the Irish could be a classic.
