Alfred James Golden Jr. (born July 4, 1969) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He served as the head football coach for the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 18 ...

from 2006 to 2010 and the Miami Hurricanes from 2011 to 2015. Prior to head coaching, he was the defensive coordinator for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

from 2001 to 2005. Golden played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...

and professionally for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

Playing career

College

Golden was a three-year (1989–1991) letter winner and

for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, where he received the 1991 Ridge Riley Award, given annually to a player who displays excellence in scholarship, sportsmanship, friendship, and leadership. As a junior in 1990, Golden played a key role in Penn State's nationally televised 24–21 upset of #1-ranked Notre Dame at South Bend. His

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

reception late in the fourth quarter tied the score at 21 as Penn State rallied from a 21–7 deficit. Golden was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Nittany Lions his senior year and helped lead them to a 42–17 win over

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in the

1992 Fiesta Bowl The 1991 IBM OS/2 Fiesta Bowl, was a post-season college football bowl game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Tennessee Volunteers, played January 1, 1992, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. This game marked the end of Sunkist s ...

, an 11–2 record, and a #3 ranking in the final 1991

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

Professional

Golden spent the

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

in the

with the

as a tight end.

Coaching career

Golden began his coaching career in 1993 as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

at Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey. He then served as a graduate assistant under George Welsh at

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

from 1994 to 1996, where he worked primarily with the

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

s and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He helped develop All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

linebackers

James Farrior James Alfred Farrior (born January 6, 1975) is a former American football linebacker who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Virginia. He played with the New York Jets ...

and

Jamie Sharper Harry James Sharper Jr. (born November 23, 1974) is a former American football linebacker and coach who is currently the Linebackers coach for the DC Defenders of the XFL. Sharper played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, and ...

, both of whom were chosen in the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

. He then coached linebackers at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

from 1997 to 1999 under Tom O'Brien. While at

, Golden coached All- Big East linebackers Frank Chamberlin and Erik Storz. The

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

finished the 1999 regular season with an 8–3 record and a top-25 national ranking, while making their first postseason bowl appearance since 1994. Named

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

head coach Al Groh in 2001, Golden became the youngest defensive coordinator in Division I-A. He had spent the previous season at his alma mater,

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

, serving as

s coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Joe Paterno. From 2001 to 2004, the

Cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

' defense improved under his tutelage, ranking 108th in total defense in his first year to ranking 18th in total defense in 2004. In the same time period, Virginia's scoring defense went from 74th in the nation (27.6 ppg) to 17th (17.7 ppg) utilizing Golden's

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). ...

Temple

Golden was named head football coach at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

in December 2005, as the second-youngest head coach in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

football at that time, behind Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald. Temple had a record of 3–31 during the three years before Golden was hired, and had just been thrown out of the Big East Conference for non-competitiveness. In Golden's first three years at the helm, Temple recorded 1–11 in 2006, 4–8 in 2007 and then 5–7 mark in 2008. The 2008 record was the best for the program since a 7–4 mark in 1990. The Owls finished the 2009 regular season at 9–3, their first winning season since 1990. It was also their best record since 1979, the last time they appeared in a postseason game, before facing the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

in the

EagleBank Bowl The Military Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that has been played annually each December in the Washington metropolitan area since 2008. The game was originally held a ...

on December 29, 2009. After leading for three quarters, the Owls fell to the Bruins 30–21. Golden was interviewed for the vacant head coach position at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in December 2007.Chris Foster, , ''Los Angeles Times'', December 20, 2007. However, he withdrew his name from consideration on December 26, 2007, choosing to stay with the up-and-coming Temple program. Following the 2009 season, he was a candidate for the head coaching position at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

vacated by Brian Kelly, who departed for Notre Dame. He later asked that his name be withdrawn from consideration from that position. That same offseason, he was also a candidate for the job at

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

vacated by

Lane Kiffin Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Kiffin formerly was the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans football team from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the Nati ...

, who went to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. In May 2010, Golden signed a contract extension with Temple through 2014. He led the Owls to an 8–4 record in 2010.

Miami

On December 12, 2010,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

reported that Golden was offered and accepted the head coaching job at the University of Miami. In press conference remarks upon his hiring on December 13, 2010, Golden emphasized the importance of the University of Miami football legacy. "It's the most recognizable brand in college football," he said. "I go back to the former players that are here, the five national championships, 20 national award winners, countless All-Americans, incredible tradition. It's a dream job." Golden signed a five-year contract at an undisclosed salary on December 14, 2010. However, due to NCAA rules, Golden did not coach the football team in Miami's bowl game against Notre Dame but instead focused on recruiting players for 2011. Despite fielding teams with multiple future NFL draft picks, Golden was unable to defeat Florida State, his in state rival, in 5 attempts. Golden began his tenure hampered by probation from a previous booster scandal, and self-imposed bowl bans during Golden's first two years with the program.

2011 season

Golden posted a 6–6 record in his first year at the University of Miami. The 2011 season was only the third time since 1979 that the program had failed to register a winning record. Despite being bowl-eligible, Miami announced on November 20 that it was withdrawing from bowl consideration due to an ongoing investigation into the program's ties to convicted

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comin ...

Nevin Shapiro Nevin Karey Shapiro (born April 13, 1969) is a convicted felon who currently is imprisoned for orchestrating a $930 million Ponzi scheme. According to interviews, he engaged in rampant violations of NCAA rules over eight years as a booster for Un ...

2012 season

The Hurricanes registered a 7–5 record in 2012 and were in contention for a Coastal Division title for much of the year. However, with the NCAA investigation still not resolved, on November 19, Miami announced it was withdrawing from bowl consideration for a second consecutive season. Reportedly, school officials remembered how

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

opted to play in a bowl in the 2011 season with an NCAA investigation still underway only to be banned from bowl consideration the following year.

2013 season

Golden's third season at Miami saw more improvement from the previous two. The Hurricanes got off to a 7–0 start, including a win over rival

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and were ranked as high as #7 in the

. Their first loss came to eventual national champion

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, which started a 3-game losing streak for Miami. The Hurricanes ended the regular season at 9-3 (5-3 ACC), good for 2nd place in the Coastal Division. Golden's team was invited to the

2013 Russell Athletic Bowl The 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 28, 2013 at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS footbal ...

, which the Canes lost 36–9 at the hands of future ACC foe Louisville.

2014 season

Golden's fourth season at Miami was seen as a disappointment by many. The Hurricanes began the season with a 6–3 record, but lost their next four games beginning with a heartbreaking home loss to defending national champions

and concluding with an uninspired defeat at the hands of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl. Golden's Hurricanes finished the season 6-7 despite being picked by many experts to win the ACC Coastal Division Championship and seven of its players being drafted by NFL franchises which was tied with

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

for 4th most by a school, behind only Florida State (11), Louisville (10) and Florida (8).

2015 season

The Hurricanes began their season with a 3–0 start, with wins over

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

, Bethune-Cookman, and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. However, in their fourth game they were defeated by the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

at Nippert Stadium. Fans clamored to see his immediate dismissal, even flying anti-Golden banners before games,. Even

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

fans got in on the act, attempting to raise money for their own "Keep Al Golden" banner with a GoFundMe campaign.Johnson, Joseph GoFundMe, September 19, 2015. Due to area banner planes being booked for the contest between the storied rivals on October 10, 2015, funds raised were instead donated to the Kidz 1st Fund charity organization in lieu of hiring a plane. Other reports suggested that

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

officials pressured the campaign's manager to not fly the banner out of respect for the coach. During the buildup for that year's matchup, archrival

sarcastically expressed their admiration for Golden's ability in leading the once mighty Hurricanes and began selling similarly themed "Keep Al Golden" T-shirts at their official bookstore. On the day of the game itself, fans posted mock "

Missing Persons A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, de ...

" notices throughout Tallahassee questioning the whereabouts of the formerly feared Hurricanes program as they welcomed them for their biennial visit to Tallahassee and FSU's

Doak Campbell Stadium Doak S. Campbell Stadium (in full Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium), popularly known as "Doak", is a football stadium on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. It is the home field of the Florida State Semin ...

. After being identified as a 7-point home underdog to Clemson in Week 8, many in national media picked Miami to have a good chance at covering the spread and possibly even upset the Tigers. Despite this, Clemson jumped out to a 45–0 lead before pulling out their starters. Clemson handed the Hurricanes their worst loss in the 90-year history of the program as the Hurricanes fell by a score of 58–0. This then led the University of Miami athletic director Blake James to dismiss Golden as head coach, only a day after the loss. Golden was 32-25 (17-18 in the ACC) in over four seasons with the Hurricanes. Golden announced after his firing that "On behalf of my family I want to thank the University of Miami for a tremendous opportunity," Golden said in a release. "I believe in what we are doing and how we are doing it and we have some outstanding young men in our football program. Though this moment is difficult, we wish the Canes the best of luck going forward."

Detroit Lions

On February 1, 2016, Golden was named tight ends coach of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. On February 7, 2018, Golden was named linebackers coach of the Lions. He was fired December 31, 2019.

Cincinnati Bengals

Golden was hired by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as their linebackers coach on January 20, 2020. He missed the team's week 10 game in 2020 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

protocols.

Notre Dame

On February 16, 2022, Golden was announced as the new

at Notre Dame, serving under recently-promoted head coach

Marcus Freeman Marcus Freeman (born January 10, 1986) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the head coach at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, University of Notre Dame. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and ...

Personal life

A native of

Colts Neck, New Jersey Colts Neck Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,957, down from the 10,142 counted in the 2010 census, i ...

, Golden graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School, Red Bank, New Jersey, and earned his undergraduate degree in pre-law from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1991 before receiving his master's in

sports psychology Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...

from the

in December 1996. A 2004 inductee of the Jersey Shore Sports Hall of Fame, he is married to Kelly Elizabeth Hanna of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and has a son, A.J.(Alfred James II) Golden, and two daughters, Addison Elizabeth Golden and Grace Hanna Golden. For most of his head coaching career, Golden wore a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie in school colors on the sidelines, unlike most coaches of his generation.

Head coaching record

‡ Ineligible for

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

title,

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

and Coaches Poll

References

External links

Notre Dame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Al 1969 births Living people American football tight ends Boston College Eagles football coaches Cincinnati Bengals coaches Detroit Lions coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches New England Patriots players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players Temple Owls football coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches High school football coaches in New Jersey Red Bank Catholic High School alumni People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey Players of American football from Monmouth County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey