Pete Thamel calls Al Golden the best coordinator hire of the offseason

ESPN analyst Pete Thamel is all in on Notre Dame‘s hire of Al Golden this offseason. Golden was brought in by the Fighting Irish to be their defensive coordinator, rejoining the college ranks after spending the past six years in the NFL.

Golden brings 10 years of college head coaching experience with him to South Bend, something Thamel believes will be beneficial as new head coach Marcus Freeman enters his inaugural season.

“I think Al Golden was the best coordinator hire of the offseason,” Thamel said. “You remember what he did at Temple. That was the single-best rehabilitation job. Temple was so bad they got kicked out of the Big East. It’s hard to get kicked out of a conference.

“So I think Al Golden being back in college and really being able to have his hands on that defense and giving Marcus the opportunity to run the program, manage games and recruit — which he has said, ‘I’m gonna be the lead recruiter’ — it’s an interesting vibe and dynamic there.”

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When Golden took over at Temple in 2006, the Owls had won only three games in the past three years. They went 1-11 his first season before increasing their win total to four in Year 2. In 2009, they posted their first winning record in 18 years to finish at 9-4.

Golden followed up that season with an 8-4 record in 2010, earning him an opportunity to be the head coach at Miami. He went on to spend five seasons with the Hurricanes, compiling a 32-25 record before being fired midway through 2015. The coach then took his first NFL job as tight ends coach for the Detroit Lions. He was later moved to linebackers coach and took over in the same role for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020.

Pete Thamel believes that experience will come in handy as Al Golden gets set to take over the Notre Dame defense. He inherits a strong group already after the Fighting Irish finished 14th in the FBS in points allowed per game this past season. That defense, in particular the linebackers, should grow stronger under Golden.

The Notre Dame defense will face a big test right off the bat, as they open the season on Sept. 3 against CJ Stroud and the high-octane Ohio State offense.