Joe Burrow sets stern expectations for the Bengals' defense under new defensive coordinator Al Golden
Welcome back, Al Golden. Remember Joe Burrow? He really, really doesn't want you to fail.The Cincinnati Bengals have entrusted Golden, the team's linebackers coach from 2020-21, to revitalize one of the worst defenses from the 2024 season in order to form a more complete team around Burrow. He was once a reliable lieutenant in the […]
Welcome back, Al Golden. Remember Joe Burrow? He really, really doesn't want you to fail.
The Cincinnati Bengals have entrusted Golden, the team's linebackers coach from 2020-21, to revitalize one of the worst defenses from the 2024 season in order to form a more complete team around Burrow. He was once a reliable lieutenant in the operation, now he's the commander.
There's already pressure for better results, and that pressure has already begun to mount from the franchise quarterback.
During his segment on ESPN's First Take Thursday morning, Burrow was asked about what the defense needs to do in order to avoid a multitude of failures this past season. He started by stating the obvious regarding Trey Hendrickson.
"We need Trey back," Burrow said. "We need to give him what he's worth and what he deserves. He's earned that."
Burrow is well aware that despite Hendrickson having one year left on his contract, extending that contract is a priority for Cincinnati. If no extension is reached, the All-Pro defensive end will be seeking a trade for the second consecutive offseason. Figuring this out first is paramount.
Ultimately, Golden can't really control whether or not he'll have one of the game's best defensive players at his disposal. The rest of Burrow's answer involved what will fall under Golden's responsibilities.
"We need our young guys to come on," Burrow said. "We need to draft well. We need guys to come in and produce immediately. We don't have time to wait around. And I think we have the young guys that are capable of going into an offseason training the way that they need to take advantage of all the opportunities that they can and come out and play well early."
Forget Golden for a minute, that's a direct shot at the guy he's replacing. Part of why Lou Anarumo was fired last month was his reluctance to play the young players drafted to him in recent years. Dax Hill, Myles Murphy, and Jordan Battle are just a few examples of premium picks who spent too much time on the sidelines while older veterans received preferential snaps and opportunities. Their developments suffered because of this, and the defense as a whole did as well.
That's not going to fly under a new DC. Golden is renowned for implementing new players into his defense after three great years doing so for Notre Dame. The expectation is he'll identify how to utilize the recent draft picks already on the team, and supplement them with an injection of new draftees he'll have a heavy influence on selecting. All will have clear and concise roles to make the entire unit cohesive.
This is the primary reason why Golden was targeted to replace Anarumo. With the other side of the ball set to be even more expensive, the defense needed an orchestrator who can put together inexpensive puzzle pieces to create a masterpiece.
Burrow confirmed those expectations without a shadow of a doubt.
Al Golden cites the Bengals’ most valuable resource as to why he left Notre Dame to become Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator
Golden’s return to Cincinnati boiled down to a few simple things.
