Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Bengals Hiring Al Golden for Defensive Coordinator
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
Follow
1/24/2025
Bengals Hiring Al Golden for Defensive Coordinator
Category
🥇
Sports
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Have the Bengals entered the Golden Age?
00:03
Well, they have.
00:04
We'll see if it works out.
00:13
Hi again, everyone.
00:14
Andrew Fox Miller is going to love that intro.
00:16
I'm James Erpine and the Bengals have a new defensive coordinator.
00:20
That's right.
00:21
Someone that we've talked about plenty here on CBT.
00:24
Al Golden is set to finalize, has finalized his deal, will become
00:28
the Bengals defensive coordinator on Thursday.
00:30
Multiple reports confirming this.
00:31
Tom Pellicerro was the first one to tweet it out.
00:34
But honestly, if you watch Cincinnati Bengals Talk,
00:36
we've had you covered throughout this process
00:38
and you're very much aware that it was going to be Al Golden.
00:41
If you check out BengalsTalk.com, you are aware that it was going to be Al Golden
00:45
and hopefully you're listening to Cincinnati Bengals Talk as well,
00:48
wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.
00:54
And by the way, this breaking news brought to you by RiverTownInquiry.com.
00:57
Look, Al Golden was going to be the hire.
01:00
He was the number one candidate on the Bengals list.
01:04
It's why the search felt funny because they interviewed some guys.
01:08
They kicked the tires on some guys behind the scenes
01:10
and I'll talk more about the search in just a minute.
01:13
But ultimately, Zach Taylor held Al Golden in such high regard.
01:19
The job he did, I'm funny enough wearing Notre Dame blue,
01:21
the job he did at Notre Dame,
01:23
what he knew of him and working with him in 2020 and 2021
01:28
when Golden was the Bengals linebackers coach,
01:30
that Al Golden was Zach Taylor's top target before he made the decision.
01:36
Or I don't want to say before he made the decision to move on with Lou,
01:41
but let's be honest here. Zach has had to have a short list.
01:44
Lou Inarumo was getting head coaching interviews a few years ago.
01:47
Zach Taylor had to have a short list of guys that he could target,
01:50
of coaches that he could target that would replace Lou Inarumo
01:54
and Al Golden was always near or at the top of that list.
01:58
And I think it's safe to say at the top of that list.
02:00
I just don't want to speak for Zach there.
02:03
And look, it makes sense. It does. Now, I don't know if it's going to work out,
02:07
but when you say it out loud, and I said this yesterday,
02:11
when you say it out loud,
02:12
you're talking about one of the top defensive coordinators in college football,
02:15
someone who has NFL experience, someone who has college coaching experience,
02:18
someone who can develop young players,
02:20
someone who knows how defenses have had to adjust, knows that he needs to adjust,
02:26
is familiar with the AFC North, knows exactly what it takes,
02:32
was on the staff that made it to Super Bowl 56. Knows what it takes.
02:38
Maximized young players like Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt in 2020 and 2021.
02:43
Jermaine Pratt got better with Al Golden in town.
02:45
There's no doubt about that. Logan Wilson,
02:47
I thought, developed during those two years that Golden was in town.
02:51
There's Elise Jessie's report from 2020 that's made some steam,
02:56
picked up some steam, where Al Golden was the one helping with third-down blitzes
03:00
and different calls like that on the defensive headset.
03:03
And the point is, is the Bengals got a really good defensive coach today.
03:09
That's it. That's what they got. And so when you say that part of it,
03:13
he has the skins on the wall. He has the experience.
03:15
One of the top coordinators in college football, they bring him in.
03:20
Well, there's a lot to like. I get why people question the search,
03:25
but the Bengals are getting a good defensive coordinator, a quality coach. Will it work?
03:32
I don't know. But I know that they're getting a quality coach.
03:35
I understand that part of it. Now, let's get to the search.
03:38
And like I said, this video brought to you by Rivertown Inquiry.
03:40
You can check out their two locations,
03:42
one, Finley Market, the other in Oakley. You're looking for Cincinnati apparel.
03:46
Rivertown Inquiry is going to have you covered. As far as the search goes,
03:50
I get it. I do. I understand. You look at the search
03:53
and you're like, man, why didn't they bring in Robert Sala?
03:56
Why was it Patrick Graham, DeMarcus Covington, and Al Golden?
04:00
And that's it. And those are the interviews that we're aware of.
04:05
I don't think they did any other interviews. That's fine. I get it.
04:07
I get why you would have that grape. For sure.
04:11
I don't know why, when you're waiting on Al Golden,
04:13
you didn't at least kick the tires on Dennis Allen or Robert Sala.
04:17
And that doesn't mean that they didn't make some calls.
04:21
I do think that the tires were kicked, but not to the extent of interviewing,
04:25
if that makes sense. I don't think you go into this search and just say,
04:28
blinders on. All right, we're going to get Al Golden.
04:31
And then, oh, we'll talk to Patrick Graham. And we're really into Patrick Graham.
04:33
And that's it. I don't think it was that simple.
04:35
I don't think Zach Taylor was like this, but I think he had a short list,
04:39
which is what you're supposed to do. That's the head coach's job,
04:41
especially, especially when you're firing guys,
04:46
which he did. And he made that decision.
04:50
And so now, of course, you have a short list. You're thinking of candidates.
04:54
And don't be shocked if we hear about defensive line coach in the near future.
04:57
I'm sure Zach and Al Golden have talked throughout this process
05:00
about who they envision, about all of these things.
05:05
I think the Bengals in Notre Dame and in Al Golden specific,
05:09
I think they've all done a good job, Zach Taylor, of not getting in the way
05:14
of the national championship game. And as Notre Dame advanced,
05:17
Zach Taylor had to, I don't even want to say work back channels,
05:20
because obviously he has Al Golden's number,
05:22
but make sure that he kept as much as he could tight to the vest.
05:26
But we all knew that this hire was going to happen.
05:28
And so search-wise, I get it. It would have been nice. It would have, no doubt.
05:34
But it's not like Al Golden isn't qualified.
05:37
It's not like they had a short search and that was it.
05:42
I mean, this is one of those things where, yeah,
05:44
the search wasn't as comprehensive as some may like,
05:49
but they're going and getting a guy that's held in really,
05:51
really high regard in virtually every circle you could ask about.
05:55
I mean, in college football, he's obviously accomplished,
05:57
just coached and helped Notre Dame get to the national championship game.
06:00
In NFL, we saw him firsthand what he can do.
06:04
And so it makes a lot of sense. I think the fit makes sense.
06:08
The thing about the search too,
06:11
I think from a Bengals perspective, if you know you have the guy,
06:14
then just go get the guy. You don't need to kick the tires.
06:17
Like if you're looking at cars or you're looking at houses,
06:21
when you find the right one and you know it, you get it. It might take 10 minutes.
06:24
It might take 20 minutes. You might have already known what house you want
06:27
or what car you want, what make you want. You might.
06:32
And clearly Zach Taylor says Al Golden's the guy.
06:35
And last year, the Dan Pitcher firing,
06:38
it's not like they kicked the tires on a bunch of offensive coordinators.
06:42
They didn't. They knew, obviously they had to interview a few guys,
06:45
but they knew that Dan Pitcher was going to get an offensive coordinator job somewhere.
06:49
They didn't want him to leave. They did everything in their power to keep him.
06:54
It's the same thing here. It really does. It feels like it's the same thing here.
06:58
I know Patrick Graham had fans in the building.
07:01
I talked to multiple people that said Patrick Graham would be a heck of a coach,
07:04
heck of an ad, and I think he really did give Al Golden a run for his money.
07:09
But ultimately, if Al Golden's willing to come and he's on your short list
07:13
and he's the guy, he's the guy. If he's your Dan Pitcher from last year,
07:17
well, then you're going to go get your guy. And that's what the Bengals did today.
07:20
Will it work? I don't know, but I understand it.
07:23
I think that his ability to relate to players, to scheme things up,
07:29
like Lou did, Lou was good at scheming, and at the same time,
07:32
maximizing what the talent you do have.
07:35
I think that it's reasonable to think that Al Golden will do that.
07:37
He did that at Notre Dame. Telling me he didn't maximize that defense,
07:41
get the most out of that defense? Of course he did.
07:42
People are going to say, oh, the National Championship game.
07:45
Okay. Well, the National Championship game, they were going up against some dudes.
07:48
It's tough. Tough when you're going up against those kind of dudes
07:51
and you have that type of talent disparity. Can't happen.
07:54
And so there are questions. How will you adjust the life in the NFL as a defensive coordinator?
07:58
How will he fit with the front office? I think that's a big part of this as well.
08:02
A big reason why Lou isn't in town. Front office had one vision for Dax Hill,
08:05
one vision for Jordan Battle, one vision for some of these guys,
08:08
the Miles Murphys of the world, and then they wouldn't get on the field.
08:10
They couldn't get on the field. Why do we give you two first-round picks
08:14
and a third-round pick if you're not getting them on the field, Lou?
08:17
Right? And so that needs to happen. If they use a pick at 17 on a defensive player,
08:22
well, guess what? Al Golden better find a way and have a plan
08:25
and carry out that plan to get that guy on the field and to make him productive.
08:28
That's the job of the coach. No doubt about it.
08:32
We'll see if he can do it. Overall, it's a hire we were expecting.
08:37
It is officially official, will be signed on the dotted line,
08:40
likely on Thursday, but the agreement is finalized.
08:42
And in the last thing here that I do think is interesting,
08:45
Lou Anarumo is reportedly making 1.5 million dollars,
08:48
while Al Golden was making 2.5 million at Notre Dame.
08:52
So there are going to be a lot of people that call the Bengals cheap, just in general.
08:57
Like the Scott Peters hire the other day. Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap.
09:01
Are we sure? Are we sure they're cheap with this coaching search?
09:05
Now, I get it. You want to talk about T, you want to talk about Jamal,
09:07
you want to talk—pay all those guys, by the way, and I'll be with you,
09:11
because I do think they have some cheap tendencies that have to go away this offseason.
09:14
But when it comes to the defensive coordinator search,
09:17
something tells me that they aren't being cheap,
09:21
and certainly are paying Al Golden more than they paid Lou Anarumo.
09:26
Be sure to hit that subscribe button on YouTube.
09:28
Follow wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.
09:33
And please, please, please support those audio streams as we continue to build those.
09:39
For Andrew Fox Miller, I'm James Erpeen.
09:40
We're going to have a ton for you this week, including, hopefully, Al Golden.
09:44
Hopefully, we'll hear from Al Golden at some point when this deal is official.
09:47
When we do, you will know about it. And until then, I'm James Erpeen.
09:52
Thank you so much for watching and listening to Cincinnati Bengals Talk.
09:57
You ready for this? That's courtesy Jeff Hobson's article on Bengals.com.
10:01
I want to bring a level of toughness and the mindset of we're protectors.
10:06
Protectors do it with more than just the shield. We do it with the sword.
10:12
What does the offensive line get as a gift from Joe Burrow?
10:15
There you go.
Recommended
2:07
|
Up next
Bengals Defensive Coordinator Al Golden on Developing Players
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/27/2025
12:28
Bengals Defensive Coordinator Al Golden Introduced | Instant Reaction
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/28/2025
31:24
Bengals News Conference Al Golden Officially Introduced as Defensive Coordinator
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/27/2025
1:06
Al Golden on Finalizing Bengals Defensive Staff
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/30/2025
1:16
Bengals Defensive Coordinator Al Golden on Evaluating College Players for NFL Draft
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/30/2025
8:15
Cincinnati Bengals Have TWO Finalists For Defensive Coordinator Job
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/20/2025
6:45
1-on-1 With Bengals Defensive Coordinator Al Golden Full Interview
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/30/2025
1:14
Al Golden on Bengals' Defensive Scheme and Trey Hendrickson
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/27/2025
1:09
Daijahn Anthony on Bengals Defensive Coordinator Search and Possible Hire
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
1/10/2025
2:04
Cincinnati Bengals Need Young Defensive Linemen to Step UP
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
11/29/2024
2:15
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on Body Language and Demeanor
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
11/6/2024
1:18
Cincinnati Bengals Need a Defensive Playmaker
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
4/11/2025
7:18
Joe Burrow Issues Warning to Cincinnati Bengals Locker Room
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
12/3/2024
2:09
Joe Burrow on Cincinnati Bengals' Run Game
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
12/7/2024
9:17
Joe Burrow on Bengals' win over Broncos
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
12/29/2024
1:46
Bengals Fall to Chiefs, But Joe Burrow is Back
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
9/19/2024
7:51
Joe Burrow on Cincinnati Bengals' Loss to Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
11/8/2024
1:10
Joe Burrow Says Bengals Not Championship Level Team
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
10/7/2024
1:16
Bengals QB Joe Burrow on Cadence Being Weapon
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
12/26/2024
5:31
Bengals Players React After Overtime Loss to Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
10/7/2024
9:41
Bengals Players React to Week 3 LOSS to Commanders
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
9/24/2024
1:12
Joe Burrow on Potential Bengals Move at Trade Deadline
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
10/30/2024
3:37
The Bengals guard spots seem to be working themselves out in OTAs
AtoZ Sports
5/28/2025
3:37
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on Analytics
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
10/23/2024
5:36
Joe Burrow Reacts to Bengals' Win Over Cowboys
Cincinnati Bengals On SI
12/10/2024