Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden is on the heels of an NFL job after the Fighting Irish lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday.

The Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator job has been open for more than two weeks now, but there hasn't been much movement on a possible hiring and now we know why: The team was waiting for Notre Dame to finish its season.

Al Golden agreed to return to Cincinnati on Wednesday after three seasons as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. More: 3 Wolverines, 3 ex-Spartans make ESPN list of top 100 college football players from '24-25

Al Golden's return to the Cincinnati Bengals was made official Thursday, with the franchise announcing he was hired as defensive coordinator.

The Cincinnati Bengals appear to have the man they'll entrust with fixing their broken defense.

Notre Dame (14-2) led the nation with 33 takeaways, scored six defensive touchdowns and led all Power Four teams in turnover margin (plus-18).

Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman won a major award after leading the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game

The Cincinnati Bengals are reportedly looking to hire Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden for the same job.

As Notre Dame searches for a new defensive coordinator, one former NFL safety believes the right choice is already in place.

Al Golden may very well be the cure to what has been ailing the Cincinnati Bengals defensively. In the wake of him leaving Zac Taylor's staff to become Marcus F

The Cincinnati Bengals hired Notre Dame's Al Golden as their new defensive coordinator, the team announced Thursday.