Notre Dame Signs Defensive Coordinator Al Golden To An Extension
The strong offseason for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame continued as Irish Breakdown has confirmed with a source that defensive coordinator Al Golden has signed a four-year extension to stay with the program. This deal was first reported by John Brice of FootballScoop, and if the figures are accurate the Irish will have one of the highest paid coordinator duos in college football with Golden and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.
Golden came to Notre Dame after spending six seasons in the NFL, and in just two years the Irish have developed into one of the best defenses in college football. There was speculation all season that Golden would return to the NFL, but this move ensures that Golden will remain in South Bend for at least one more season, and the odds of keeping him even longer are strengthened.
Despite playing a challenging schedule, Notre Dame had its best defensive season since 2012. The Fighting Irish defense ranked 7th nationally in scoring defense, 5th in total defense, 5th in fewest yards allowed per play, 3rd in pass defense, 3rd in fewest yards allowed per pass attempt, 2nd in lowest completion percentage allowed and 10th in interceptions.
Notre Dame also led the nation in passer rating and tied with Michigan for the fewest touchdown passes allowed all season. In 2022, the Irish defense was among the nation's worst red zone defenses, but Golden and the defensive staff changed that in a hurry. In 2023, the Irish defense ranked 2nd nationally in red zone defense and 3rd and red zone touchdown defense. The Irish also ranked 9th in fewest first downs allowed and 13th in forced turnovers.
Notre Dame will return six starters from its 2023 defense and is once again expected to have one of the nation's best defenses. Golden will oversee a new-look staff as well after Chris O'Leary departed for the NFL. Notre Dame is expected to make elite corners coach Mike Mickens the coach for the entire secondary and is expected to promote Max Bullough to coach the linebackers. With defensive line coach Al Washington also slated to return the Irish will return much of what made the 2023 defense so good.
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