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.

Notre Dame football officially is losing Al Golden to the Bengals. However, the Irish could have an immediate replacement.

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.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden is on the heels of an NFL job after the Fighting Irish lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday.

ATLANTA -- Al Golden orchestrated a Notre Dame defense that ranked top 10 nationally across myriad categories and spurred the Fighting Irish's run to Monday night's College Football Playoff Championship.

The Cincinnati Bengals are reportedly looking to hire Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden for the same job.

The Cincinnati Bengals hired Notre Dame's Al Golden as their new defensive coordinator, the team announced Thursday.

The Irish have not lost since dropping back-to-back games against TCU and Utah in the Cayman Islands Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.

The Cincinnati Bengals appear to have the man they'll entrust with fixing their broken defense.

A native of Colts Neck, N.J., Golden played tight end at Penn State from 1988-91, then spent the 1992 season with the New England Patriots (no games played). He earned a bachelor’s degree in pre-law from Penn State in 1991, and a master’s degree in sports psychology from Virginia in 1996.

Al Golden may very well be the cure to what has been ailing the Cincinnati Bengals defensively. In the wake of him leaving Zac Taylor's staff to become Marcus F