Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals haven’t done much to hide their intentions when it comes to the team’s next defensive corodsintoer.
The transparent, narrow search to fill the position has always obviously centered on Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. Those plans took another step on Monday night.
In a super-obvious postgame report after the national title game, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Golden has “emerged” as the top candidate (in the same way the sun “emerges” each morning, anyway).
Golden has repeatedly shot down questions about taking the job with Taylor and the Bengals, but only while attempting to keep focus on Notre Dame. Early in the process, the Bengals interviewed other names, but they felt like a formality.
With Golden now free to wrap things up with the Fighting Irish, the timetable, as explained by The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.:
As we’ve been saying, Zac Taylor has long held Al Golden as the leading candidate in the DC search.
Here’s the expected timeline: Golden will spend today and early tomorrow wrapping things up at ND. Then Taylor looks to officially interview him Wednesday.
From there, just what…
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 21, 2025
Golden left a very positive impression on the Bengals during his recent run with the team, which included coaching up linebackers such as Germaine Pratt.
Considering developing talent has been an issue on that side of the ball in recent years, getting him back is an attempt to right that side of the ship.
Barring a shocker, this is just a matter of time.
