Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden wins Broyles Award
Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden won the 2024 Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football, the award announced Thursday night.
He took the same job with the Cincinnati Bengals shortly after the 2024-25 season ended, but he left an indelible mark on the program in South Bend. The honor of being named the best assistant coach in the nation is his final achievement with the Irish.
“People always ask me, in this age of transactional sports, what it was like to coach at Notre Dame,” Golden said shortly before his win was announced. “I’ll say this: It was the greatest 1,000 days of my career to be associated and to wake up and coach those young men every day.”
Golden, whose defense led the Irish to the national championship game, is Notre Dame’s second Broyles winner. The first was defensive coordinator Bob Diaco in 2012.
He was on Irish head coach Marcus Freeman’s original staff, taking the job after serving as the Bengals’ linebackers coach in a season that ended in Super Bowl LVI.
“There is a place in northern Indiana where young man go that still think it’s important to be great in the community,” Golden said. “They still think it’s important to be awesome in the classroom. They still think it’s important and vital to have a spiritual component in your life. And it’s all fostered by a head coach that provides a culture.
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“I was blessed to be a part of that for just a brief moment, and I can’t thank the players enough for the opportunity they provided not just myself, but my family, to go on that journey with them. And for that, I will be forever grateful.”
In his third year in charge of the defense in South Bend, Golden’s group was the catalyst for Notre Dame’s 11-1 regular season and subsequent College Football Playoff run. The Irish allowed 15.5 points per game, which was tied for fourth in the nation. They led the country in passing efficiency defense at 104.4, turnovers forced with 33 and defensive touchdowns with 6.
Golden evolved the defense from struggling to take the ball away when he first arrived in 2022 to the best ball-disruption and playmaking unit in college football. From the night the Irish tormented then-Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman, they were a nightmare to pass the ball on.
Golden maintained that standard all the way until the end despite injuries to several key starters including cornerback Benjamin Morrison, vypers Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore and defensive tackle Rylie Mills.
Notre Dame replaced Golden with former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash.
