When Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden shot down the idea of joining the Cincinnati Bengals as Zac Taylor fired up the search for a new one, it was hard to tell if he was just going coachspeak with his answer.
Bengals fans are getting closer to finding out.
Golden’s Fighting Irish play in the national title game on Monday night. After that, onlookers might see some traction for Golden possibly rejoining the Bengals.
It’s a conversation at all because Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator search has been suspiciously quiet. The Bengals reportedly had two interviews with candidates lined up and another big name was apparently involved.
But that’s a smaller number of reports than one might expect, especially around a vacant position that is sure to be one of the hottest openings out there, considering the state of the Cincinnati offense.
Naturally, that should lead to some speculation that Taylor will seek to go back to Golden, who coached linebackers under him early at the start of this new era and helped bring along the likes of Germaine Pratt.
After Monday night, don’t be shocked if the rumblings around this Bengals position amp up in a big way.