Three Things Bengals Defensive Coordinator Al Golden Must Do To Be Successful

 The Bengals hired Al Golden to be their defensive coordinator. The move was official on Thursday afternoon.

Golden coached Notre Dame's defense in Monday night's National Championship Game against Ohio State and is considered the favorite to replace Lou Anarumo in Cincinnati.

There are plenty of things the Bengals defense needs to do better in 2025, but here are three things that Golden must do to fix things moving forward:

Maximize Current Roster

The Bengals have to get more out of their current players. They aren't going to completely overhaul the defense. Young players like Dax Hill, Myles Murphy, Cam Taylor-Britt, Jordan Battle, Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson are some of the many pieces Golden will have to get more out of in 2025.

Most of these guys don't need to be stars, but they do need to be regular contributors that can help be part of a good defense.

It's up to Golden, the rest of his defensive staff and Zac Taylor to get the most out of the piece they already have on the roster.

Same Vision as Front Office

Golden and the front office need to be on the same page.

The Bengals used high draft picks on Hill, Murphy and Battle. The trio started nine games combined in their rookie season. Seven of those starts came when Battle stepped in for Nick Scott, who was clearly lost on defense after signing a three-year deal with Cincinnati in free agency.

Whether a free agent or a draft pick—the plan and the vision between the coaching staff and the front office has to align.

Part of the reason the Bengals moved on from Lou Anarumo was his inability to get more out of top draft picks and the free agents Cincinnati did add in the offseason.

Everyone knows letting Jessie Bates go was a mistake, but shouldn't they have gotten more out of Hill, Scott, Battle, Geno Stone, Tycen Anderson and Daijahn Anthony?

They've addressed the position in a multitude of ways. The vision for draft picks and free agent additions has to align if they're going to be successful.

Identify Quality Players in Free Agency and the Draft

Golden should have an advantage over a lot of other defensive coordinator candidates in this department. He coached against 19 different ranked teams in three seasons as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator.

That includes three matchups with Ohio State, a College Football Playoff showdown against Georgia, and games against Penn State, USC, Texas A&M and plenty of other schools that regularly produce NFL talent.

Golden should have a good idea about a lot of these draft prospects because he's either coached them, coached against them or seen them on film at some point.

Golden must be able to identify talent that fits his scheme and could make an instant impact in their system. At the same time, getting it right in free agency is a big reason why Cincinnati made it to Super Bowl LVI when Golden was their linebackers coach.

Finding guys like Trey Hendrickson, Mike Hilton, Chidobe Awuzie, Vonn Bell and Larry Ogunjobi were all key contributors after signing with Cincinnati in free agency.

Whether it's a veteran on a one-year deal like Ogunjobi or long-term pieces like Hilton and Hendrickson, the Bengals have to identify and sign a few proven pieces on defense in free agency.