A former linebackers coach for the Bengals from 2020-21, Al Golden returns to Cincinnati's staff in '25 as defensive coordinator. The 2025 season marks his 33rd as a coach and his seventh in the NFL.
Golden spent the past three seasons (2022-24) at the University of Notre Dame, where he was defensive coordinator, while also holding the title of linebackers coach from '22-23. Under Golden in 2024, the Fighting Irish ranked second nationally both in scoring defense (14.3 points allowed per game) and total defense (298.3 yards allowed). The unit held 12 opponents to 17 or fewer points, helping Notre Dame to a 14-2 overall record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Golden was recognized with the 2024 Broyles Award, presented annually to the top assistant coach in college football. He also holds the rare distinction of having coached in both the Super Bowl and the CFP national title game, and he did so within a span of three years.
Golden's 2023 defense ranked second nationally in opponent red zone scoring percentage (70.6) and fourth in passing yards allowed (154.2). In 2022, he oversaw a defense that averaged 2.92 sacks per game (15th in nation).
In his previous stint with the Bengals, Golden helped develop young LBs Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt, who entered their first and second NFL seasons, respectively, upon Golden's arrival. In 2021, Wilson led the team in tackles (98) and INTs (four), while Pratt started 15 games and had 88 stops. The pair made crucial plays during Cincinnati's postseason run to Super Bowl LVI, as Pratt clinched the franchise's first playoff win in 31 years with his fourth-quarter INT in the Wild Card against Las Vegas, and Wilson picked off a pass late in the Divisional Playoff at Tennessee to set up the game-winning FG drive.
Golden joined the Bengals after four seasons (2016-19) with the Detroit Lions, where he was TEs coach from '16-17 and LBs coach from '18-19. In 2018, the Lions jump to 10th in the NFL in total defense, after ranking 27th in '17.
Golden spent the previous 23 seasons in the college ranks, including 10 as a head coach — Temple University from 2006-10, and Miami (Fla.) from '11-15. He won the 2009 MAC Coach of the Year while at Temple, and the '13 Lombardi Award for Excellence in Coaching while at Miami. He was named to the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame's class of 2020.
Golden led Miami to a bowl game in each of five seasons in Coral Gables. At Temple, he sparked perhaps the greatest turnaround in program history, as the Owls posted winning records in each of his final two seasons after achieving just two total winning seasons over the previous 26 years. His 2009 Temple team won nine games — tied for second-most in school history at the time — and made its first bowl appearance since 1979 with a trip to the EagleBank Bowl.
In 2001, Golden became the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS (formerly Division 1-A) when he was hired for that role at the University of Virginia. He spent five seasons (2001-05) with the Cavaliers.
Golden served as LBs coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, Penn State, in 2000. He spent the previous three seasons (1997-99) coaching LBs at Boston College, after beginning his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Virginia from '94-96. He broke into coaching as offensive coordinator at Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic High School, his alma mater, in 1993.
Golden was a three-year letter winner and two-year starting TE at Penn State. He served as a team captain of former head coach Joe Paterno's 1991 squad that won the Fiesta Bowl. He went on to play for the New England Patriots in 1992, before turning his attention to coaching.
Golden was born July 4, 1969, in Colts Neck, N.J. A standout player at Red Bank Catholic, he was inducted into the Jersey Shore Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He earned his bachelor's degree in pre-law from Penn State in 1991, then received his master's in sports psychology from Virginia in '96. Golden and his wife, Kelly, have three children — son A.J., and daughters Addison and Grace.
Playing and coaching history: 1988-91—Played TE at Penn State. 1992—Played TE with New England Patriots. 1993—Assistant coach (AC) in New Jersey high school ranks. 1994-96—Graduate assistant coach, Virginia. 1997-99—AC, Boston College. 2000—AC, Penn State. 2001-05—Defensive coordinator, Virginia. 2006-10—Head coach, Temple. 2011-15—Head coach, Miami (Fla.). 2016-19—AC, Detroit Lions. 2020-21—AC, Cincinnati Bengals. 2022-24—Defensive coordinator, Notre Dame. 2025—Defensive coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals.
