New Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden arrives with some key strengths of his own.
His predecessor, Lou Anarumo, had an almost uncanny ability to throw out a by-the-opponent amoeba defense and give quarterbacks as Patrick Mahomes fits.
Golden, after a stint at Notre Dame, has a rather unique strength of his own, as pointed out by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
What also makes Golden attractive to the NFL is Notre Dame plays an independent slate of teams, meaning they have to be ready for every kind of offense rather than cookie-cutter schemes that fit into a league.
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There’s a degree to where this will be helpful for the Bengals and Golden. Bonus points, of course, because he was already on staff with the Bengals and knows the AFC North well, too.
Golden has other things going for him, of course. He had a proven track record for developing talent in Cincinnati as the linebackers coach of Logan Wilson and others.
That built-in understanding of Zac Taylor and all levels of the Bengals doesn’t hurt either, which explains why it feels like the team never had sights on another serious candidate.
