Zac Taylor confirms how Al Golden will provide an instant impact as Bengals defensive coordinator
Coaching for the Cincinnati Bengals means you're busier between March and April than you would be for other clubs around the NFL. Cincinnati heavily leans on its coaching staff to assist in the NFL Draft scouting process, leading to those same coaches having a strong voice in the war room when it's time to make […]
Coaching for the Cincinnati Bengals means you're busier between March and April than you would be for other clubs around the NFL. Cincinnati heavily leans on its coaching staff to assist in the NFL Draft scouting process, leading to those same coaches having a strong voice in the war room when it's time to make some picks.
Enter newly-hired defensive coordinator Al Golden, who spent the past three years coordinating and preparing Notre Dame's defense to face some of the best talent college football has to offer.
Golden taking over the Bengals' defense has its advantages, but his familiarity with the college level can't be undersold in this regard. It's going to be one of the first ways his impact is realized.
"That's a resource we're going to use in all three phases," head coach Zac Taylor said during Golden's introductory press conference. "He's he's been at Notre Dame, and Notre Dame plays teams from throughout the country. So he's seen the best athletes. He's probably seen them play for two or three different teams as he's coached against them. That's the truth of it. So I think there's probably a lot of prospects we're going to go through in this draft where, you know, we'll be getting Al out there and giving his two cents on scheming for a guy or playing against a guy, or the plenty of guys that Notre Dame has on the roster. So that'll be great resource that we'll be sure to utilize."
Taylor referred to the player-base Golden specifically coached for and against, but Golden's general knowledge of how college players develop and succeed is also an important factor here.
The Bengals have had severe issues integrating draft picks on defense, leading to the issues that ultimately got Lou Anarumo fired this month. His replacement being more experienced in getting new players up to speed and assimilating them into his scheme is nothing short of crucial.
"Certainly from a development standpoint, we talked about this last Wednesday, just that onboarding, you know, how good can you get as onboarding when the rookies come in," Golden said. "Because I think the one thing that we were proud of last year in South Bend was the number of freshmen that played for us and played significantly. And to do that, you have to be great at onboarding. There has to be a quick transition. They have to know precisely where their eyes need to go in the playbook, exactly what techniques we're teaching and take the source to them, Go right to them in terms of how they learn best, and whether that's on their phone, through video, whatever that case may be, just make it, make it really, really accessible, so they can be a continuous learner.
"And I think that's going to start the second we make that phone call and we draft somebody."
That's the precise breath of fresh air the Bengals were looking for when they identified Golden as their ideal candidate to replace Anarumo. The only way the defense can keep up with an offense set to become even more expensive in the coming years is if a competent youth movement takes over.
The hope is they've landed the right coach to oversee it all.
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.
