Notre Dame announces hiring of Al Washington as defensive line coach
Another one of Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame assistant coaching hires is now official.
Al Washington has been named the Irish’s defensive line coach and run game coordinator, the program announced Tuesday. He agreed to take the job Jan. 16. He will be on the road recruiting for Notre Dame starting Wednesday.
Washington replaces Mike Elston, who left Notre Dame for Michigan Jan. 13 after 12 years of coaching in South Bend. Washington spent the last three seasons coaching the Buckeyes’ linebackers. He was not retained by new Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who arrived after four seasons at Oklahoma State.
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“I have seen firsthand how talented Al Washington is as a coach,” Freeman said in a statement. “He is a great teacher and developer of his players on the field, but is just as impressive in how he goes about building great men off the field. On top of that, he is a passionate recruiter whose work in that area is going to help us compete for a national title.”
Freeman and Washington coached together at Cincinnati in 2017, when the former was the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator and the latter coached the defensive line. Washington left for Michigan in 2018 and spent one season as the Wolverines’ linebackers coach before heading to Ohio State.
Washington, 37, is a Columbus, Ohio, native and a graduate of Boston College. He had 74 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and six sacks as a defensive tackle there from 2002-05. He started in 24 games for the Eagles.
Washington began his coaching career at Division III Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 2007. He was a graduate assistant at NC State in 2008. He coached the Division II Slippery Rock defensive line in 2009-10 and the FCS Elon linebackers in 2011. Washington finally made it to the Division I level as an assistant special teams and defensive line coach in 2012 at Boston College.
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In 2013, Washington switched to running backs coach at his alma mater and stayed there until 2015. He moved back to special teams and the defensive line in 2016 before making his way closer to home at Cincinnati.
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The Irish’s defensive line is sufficiently stocked for Washington. Notre Dame lost two of four 2021 defensive line starters, but arguably got the better two back for another year.
Defensive end Isaiah Foskey, who led the Irish in sacks with 11.0, is returning for his senior year. Defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola, who led the team with 43 quarterback pressures, is coming back in 2022 as a “super senior” using the COVID-19 waiver that granted all 2020 college football players an extra season of eligibility.
As it stands, departing starters Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa are the only two Irish defensive linemen who are not coming back. Notre Dame signed three players at the position in December.
With the announcement of Washington, all reported staff additions to date have been made official. Notre Dame formally hired Harry Hiestand (offensive line) and Chansi Stuckey (wide receivers) Monday and announced Brian Mason (special teams) Jan. 20. The Irish are still searching for a defensive coordinator and running backs coach.
