Former Penn State football tight end Al Golden was hired as the new Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator, the team announced on Friday.

Golden played two seasons of his collegiate career at Penn State, where he racked up 17 receptions for 231 yards and two touchdowns in 23 games. He served as a team captain during his senior year and led the Nittany Lions to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Tennessee as well as a No. 3 ranking in the final 1991 AP Poll.

Golden has served as the head coach for Temple and Miami at the collegiate level. After his experience at the helm of Miami, he dabbled in NFL coaching as the Detroit Lions’ tight ends coach and linebackers coach from 2016-19.

He then joined the Bengals as the linebackers coach from 2020-21 but left for the Notre Dame defensive coordinator job after the team’s Super Bowl LVI loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Golden helped transform Notre Dame into a national title contender, which the Fighting Irish just missed out on in their national championship loss to Ohio State. Notably, Golden’s penultimate game calling the shots for Notre Dame’s defense was its win over his alma mater in the Orange Bowl.

Golden will now return to the NFL coaching scene as the Bengals’ defensive coordinator. He’ll be tasked with transforming a struggling Bengals defense that played a key role in the team’s disappointing 2024 season.