Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash on benefits of NFL experience
Notre Dame football defensive coordinator Chris Ash on creating a ‘positionless defense’ and using concepts from his four seasons in the NFL
SOUTH BEND — Two months into his new role as defensive coordinator for Notre Dame football, Chris Ash has yet to compare notes with predecessor Al Golden.
But that doesn’t mean a conversation between the new Cincinnati Bengals’ DC and Ash, back in the college game after four years in the NFL, won’t happen at some point.
“I’ve actually thought about it,” Ash said after Friday’s practice session. “I know (Golden) is really busy with what he’s doing in Cincinnati, and I’ve been pretty busy here. I’ve never met him, but I have a ton of respect for him and not only what he did here but what he’s done in his career.”
Golden, the reigning Broyles Award winner as the top FBS assistant in 2024, is “a good football coach, a good person,” said Ash, who added he’s “never had the fortune to meet him and be around him a whole lot.”
Significant turnover in the personnel on a top-five defense from last season somewhat limits the scope of what Golden could offer anyway. Ash’s transition has already been smoothed by the retention of defensive pass-game coordinator Mike Mickens, defensive run-game coordinator Al Washington and linebackers coach Max Bullough.
“I don’t really want someone else’s opinion to really formulate mine; I want to formulate my own,” Ash said. “As a coordinator you’re only as good as the staff and the players that you have. I’m very fortunate. I told the players I feel like I hit the football lottery coming here.”
Ash, the former Rutgers head coach who…
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Publish date : 2025-03-29 20:01:00
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