Al Golden brings out receipts of Notre Dame doubter Desmond Howard during his acceptance speech

Although Al Golden’s tenure as Notre Dame defensive coordinator has ended, he continues to relive his moments in South Bend, especially from last season. He played a crucial role in the Fighting Irish's run to the national championship game, where they lost to Ohio State.

Golden attended the Downtown Rotary Club in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Friday to receive the Broyles Award, given to the nation's best assistant coach. The new Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator earned the honor for his role in the Notre Dame defense's success last season.

In his acceptance speech, Al Golden responded to Heisman Trophy winner and College GameDay crew member Desmond Howard, who repeatedly picked against Notre Dame last season. Despite Howard's predictions, the Irish ended the season with a 14-2 record.

“And Des, thank you for picking against us six times this year,” Golden said. “We won 14 games and he picked against us six times. It's unbelievable.”

Confidence in Notre Dame was hard to come by early in the 2024 season. The Irish started with a win against Texas A&M but lost to Northern Illinois from the Football Championship Subdivision at home in Week 2. This loss was the turning point for them in 2024.

Al Golden appreciates Marcus Freeman for the opportunity at Notre Dame

When Marcus Freeman was hired as Notre Dame's coach, he offered Al Golden a chance to return to college football. This opportunity allowed Golden to relaunch his coaching career after some ups and downs. On Friday, he expressed his appreciation for Freeman.

“Thank you to Coach Freeman for believing in me,” Golden said. “But not just believing in me, but to create and foster an environment that allowed me to be the best that I could be. That allowed all of the coaches on his staff to be the best that they could possibly be.

“It was an incredible 1,000 days, not just with Coach Freeman, but all the assistants that I had the pleasure to work with. Sometimes when you talk about the staff that you work with, they think you're talking about just the immediate staff and our defensive staff was awesome.. but also the offensive staff.”

Al Golden had his best season with Notre Dame in 2024. The Fighting Irish boasted one of the nation's top defenses, ranking second in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 14.3 points per game and ninth in total defense, surrendering 298.3 yards per game.