"Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has emerged as a top candidate to be the Bengals new DC, per me and Mike Garafolo," Rapoport wrote. "Coach Zac Taylor has been waiting for the National Championship to end before moving forward. Now that it has, he can speak with Golden & work thru it."

Cincinnati is finalizing a deal to hire Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden to run its defense. Golden helped lead the Fighting Irish to Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game where they lost to Ohio State. He is expected to officially sign with the team on Thursday.

The Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator job has been open for more than two weeks now, but there hasn't been much movement on a possible hiring and now we know why: The team was waiting for Notre Dame to finish its season.

Former Red Bank Catholic star Al Golden, fresh off Notre Dame's run to the CFP title game, is returning to the NFL as Bengals defensive coordinator

The next three sites for the national title game will be at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (Jan. 24, 2028), AT&T Stadium in Dallas (Jan. 22, 2029) and back to Hard Rock Stadium (Jan. 21, 2030) in Miami. New Orleans will host the CFP title game for the second time after LSU completed a perfect season with a win over Clemson in 2020.

Al Golden agreed to return to Cincinnati on Wednesday after three seasons as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. More: 3 Wolverines, 3 ex-Spartans make ESPN list of top 100 college football players from '24-25

Let's take a look back at Sports Illustrated's best images and coverage from the Buckeyes' championship night.

7 seed Notre Dame has been preparing to take on No. 8 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship ... to the Bengals and head coach Zac Taylor. The 55-year-old defensive ...

Al Golden is set to join the Bengals as their next defensive coordinator, after leading Notre Dame to the CFP national title game.

ATLANTA — The stage is set. On Monday, Notre Dame and Ohio State will play for the 2025 College Football National Championship. North Carolina is well represented on Notre Dame's sideline with graduate kicker Mitch Jeter, a Salisbury native, and Sam Pendleton, a Reagan High School alum.

Caroline Fenton, Jason Fitz & Adam Breneman react to the biggest game of the season as Ohio State beats Notre Dame 34-23 in the College Football Playoff National Championship.