Al Golden receives massive honor in college football as Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame works to restaff the Fighting Irish

Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden received the Broyles Award for the best assistant coach in college football. Golden received the honor for his role as defensive coordinator last season with the Fighting Irish, who reached the national championship game.

After receiving the award, Golden said:

"Thank you to [Notre Dame Head] Coach [Marcus] Freeman for believing in me, but not just believing in me, but to create and foster an environment that allowed me to be the best that I could be, I can't thank the players enough and the opportunity that they provided, not just myself but my family to go on that journey with them. And for that, I'll be forever grateful."

Al Golden has left Notre Dame, having joined the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL last month, a few days after the Fighting Irish faced a loss against Ohio State in the national championship game.

Notre Dame replaces Al Golden with Chris Ash

The Fighting Irish found a replacement for Al Golden fairly quickly after he left. On January 25th, the school announced that Chris Ash would become the next defensive coordinator.

Ash was most recently a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024. He brings in 24 years of combined coaching experience between the NFL and college football.

Here's what Marcus Freeman had to say about Ash's hiring.

“Chris’ experience of coordinating and leading great defensive units at multiple places really resonated with me, his experience both in the NFL and as a head coach are valuable assets he can bring to our program," Freeman said.

"Chris has a great reputation of being a coach who builds strong relationships, while simultaneously developing his players, and that makes him a great fit for this role.”

Ash has previously been the defensive coordinator for Arkansas, Drake, Texas and Wisconsin. He was also a co-defensive coordinator for the 2014 Ohio State national championship-winning team.