Notre Dame's Chris Ash Takes Over Golden Opportunity on Defense

New Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash has big shoes to fill as he takes over a defense that went to the national title game last season.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash during a Notre Dame football spring practice at Irish Athletic Center on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish kicked off fall camp last week, and there were some familiar faces; however, a few new faces stood out. One of the new faces was defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who takes over for Al Golden, who left South Bend for the cash and glory of holding the same position for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.

It's fairly common for Golden to leave a job as a stepping stone for another job. He has done that frequently in his career. Notre Dame was just the latest stone for Golden to step on.

Ash comes to South Bend from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ash was a scout for the Jaguars, but has a plethora of experience at both the collegiate level and the NFL. Golden left the Irish in good hands and Ash is looking to pick up where Golden left off. He wants to see Notre Dame win one more game, the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman during a football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“This is the Notre Dame defense, and there are certain things that are really important to play defense at Notre Dame,” Ash said. “It has nothing to do with scheme. It has everything to do with the mindset of the players. That they show up and they play fast. They play violent and they compete consistently. They are fundamentally sound, they are situationally aware and we are going to go at it. We are going to go compete and we are going to do the best that we can every single day. That’s the Notre Dame defense.

“In terms of scheme, it’s all about concepts,” he said. “The concepts that I like are the same things that they have had here in this package, and that’s really where it’s at. We are just trying to get better every single day. The guys are confident in what we are doing, and they have a lot of belief in themselves and they are flying around and competing. They are having a lot of fun out here right now.”

Notre Dame's 15.5 points allowed per game last year were the fifth-fewest in all of major college football. Ash comes to Notre Dame having to replace a couple of stars from last year's defense, but with expectations to perform like last season.

Ash will have to put it all together shortly as they open their season at Hard Rock Stadium against the University of Miami on Aug. 31.