How Surprising Jaguars Rookie Holds Key to Bengals Week

The Edge

Those all help, of course, but it isn't the edge on hand. Instead, that edge is none other than rookie backup linebacker Jack Kiser.

Kiser only played special teams in Week 1, and that likely won't change vs. the Bengals. So, how can a backup special teamer possibly help Coen and his offense?

Because over the last three years, no Notre Dame player knew the ins and outs of Golden as a coach than Kiser. Golden's first two years at Notre Dame, he was Kiser's position coach. Then he took over as defensive coordinator in 2024, with Kiser serving as the on-field extension of his coach during an incredibly successful season.

"If there is anybody that knows it as a player, it is Jack Kiser," Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said about Golden's scheme this week on Jaguars HQ.

It is because of that knowledge that the Jaguars' offensive staff and locker room have not been shy about picking Kiser's brain when it comes to what they should expect on Sunday.

"I'm walking the halls of the facility Monday evening, pretty late in the evening, and I'm walking past Grant Udinsk's office, and I see Jack Kiser sitting in there, and I'm like, 'What the heck are you guys up to?'" Gladstone said.

"Poke my head in. They got Notre Dame film on."

Gladstone and the Jaguars know there will be key differences between Golden's defense at Notre Dame and the one they will see Sunday, but there is still plenty of detail to extract from their mole.

"Things can change, you know, over the course of a year. I think, from my understanding, there's more, hey, where are we in conflict here in this coverage? From your understanding, having lived in these shoes, where did you feel vulnerable when this was being deployed, all that kind of stuff," Gladstone said.

"I mean, it's been cool. Like, it's funny, like, you know, teammates would come up to me on the offense side and say, Hey, like, you know, we were watching you play, right? I'm in that film," Kiser told Jaguars On SI in the locker room this week.

"And so it's just been funny. And trying to give guys pointers here and there about what to expect, but at the same time, like, you know, it's a whole new level. It's, you know, college is very different than, you know, but also I can give them some pointers, but who knows if that's actually what they're going to see."

But while there are still plenty of unknowns for the Jaguars' offense, there are still some very clear things Kiser warns they should expect from a Golden-coached defense.

"I think, you know, Coach Golden is a guy who's very detailed, very disciplined, right? And that's how his defense plays. That was one thing I think at Notre Dame we prided ourselves a lot on, was that everybody was always on the same page. Communication was at a premium, like it was, you know, that's what we really hung our hat on," Kiser said.

"And so I think that's what you're going to see. That's always going to translate, right? And then, you know, you look at this past season like we drilled a lot on attacking the ball, and that showed up in the season last year. And so you got to believe that he's taking that same approach, same mentality, to Cincinnati. And so I think they're ahead, the leaders in turnover margins right there. And so that's something they're going to pride themselves on is taking the ball away."

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