With the impending Al Golden news, there is only one direction Notre Dame should turn for their next defensive coordinator
As if losing a national championship game to the Ohio State Buckeyes wasn’t hard enough, Notre Dame football is also expecting another huge loss soon. It’s expected that defensive coordinator Al Golden will be taking the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals, and an announcement could be coming very soon. It’s no coincidence that various […]
As if losing a national championship game to the Ohio State Buckeyes wasn’t hard enough, Notre Dame football is also expecting another huge loss soon. It’s expected that defensive coordinator Al Golden will be taking the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals, and an announcement could be coming very soon. It’s no coincidence that various reports have been coming out both before and after the game.
With that impending news on the horizon, it’s important for the Irish staff to have a firm plan in place. Losing arguably the best defensive coordinator in college football won’t be easy, but if anyone can figure it out, head coach Marcus Freeman can. There will be an interesting debate about whether elevating from within or having an external search would be best.
For the very best of the program, the former makes the most sense. We have heard Coach Freeman in the past speak praises of secondary coach Mike Mickens, and continue to elevate his job responsibilities in recent seasons. A lot have speculated that Mickens was being groomed to take over eventually, although probably not quite this quickly.
Even if that timetable has been sped up slightly, this feels like a job that was made for Mickens. We have seen Coach Freeman elevate in the past, and want to put people in place that he trusts, and Coach Mickens certainly fits that billing. It would also be an elevation based on merit.
Coach Mickens has become one of the best secondary coaches in all of college football the last couple of seasons. He has been responsible for developing Benjamin Morrison into an All-American cornerback, as well as tutoring the likes of Cam Hart, Leonard Moore, Christian Gray, Jordan Clark, TaRiq Bracey, and Thomas Harper.
He also played a huge hand in taking the safety position to new heights in 2024, helping sophomore Adon Shuler have a massive breakout, and continuing the upward trend of All-American Xavier Watts. There is little questioning that Coach Mickens is an outstanding position coach.
Just how good of a defensive coordinator will Coach Mickens be? That is a massive question that nobody knows the answer to. With no experience in that regard, it will be an unknown until given the opportunity, but it seems like a gamble worth taking at this juncture. Mickens has continued to excel with every new role given, and this should be no different.
If this was the move that the Notre Dame staff decides to make, putting solid supports around Coach Mickens would be best. He will obviously have Coach Freeman to lean on, which is massive with his experience as a defensive coordinator. With Max Bullough already in place as the linebackers coach, there’s also now an interesting option to replace Golden with a new position coach.
Bringing in a talented safeties coach might be for the best, allowing Mickens to focus on building up the defense and sticking to his roots as a cornerback coach. Unloading some of the pressure of coaching two separate positions would free him up with the transition. The move kind of feels like a no brainer.
