FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden hasn’t made this week about him and his connection with Penn State.
The 55-year-old Golden played tight end for the Nittany Lions and made a memorable touchdown catch in 1990 in an upset win over the Fighting Irish, ranked No. 1 at the time.
Current Notre Dame players didn’t hear about it from Golden; they found the video clip on YouTube.
“We’ve seen it,” linebacker Jack Kiser said. “We’ve watched it. There’s another video of him working out in the Penn State gym with a cutoff T-shirt on. It’s pretty funny.”
Golden nimbly handled Penn State questions about his playing days, his one season (2000) on the coaching staff and applying for the head coaching job in 2014 when James Franklin was hired.
But there’s a human element to this week for him, too. He’ll be coaching against his alma mater when the Irish and the Nittany Lions meet in the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (TV-ESPN).
He was Virginia’s defensive coordinator when Penn State assistant coaches Anthony Poindexter and Marques Hagans played for the Cavaliers.
“It’s hard,” he said. “You never lose your friends. I haven’t been back in a while and it’s really because my season runs congruent with their season. My friends go back either in the spring or during the season. I can’t.
“I wish them success and greater things, but really my focus has been on our journey.”
Golden’s coaching journey began at Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic, his high school alma mater. He went on to coach at Boston College, Penn State and Virginia before becoming head coach at Temple in 2006.
He guided the Owls to a 27-33 record in five seasons and left to become head coach at Miami (Fla.), where the Hurricanes went 32-25 before he was fired in the middle of the 2015 season.
He went on to the NFL and was an assistant coach with Detroit and Cincinnati before Marcus Freeman hired him as defensive coordinator three years ago.
“I love sharing,” Golden said. “I feel like I have a wealth of experience. I’ve crossed over to that wisdom phase of my life. I’m grateful that they look at it like, ‘OK, he’s been here. Let’s trust the vision he has.’ That’s important.”
With Golden designing the schemes and calling the plays, Notre Dame’s defense ranks second in points allowed and eighth in yards allowed. The Irish shut down Georgia’s offense in a 23-10 victory in the Sugar Bowl that moved them within one step of the College Football Playoff national title game.
“I like his passion and his ability to give it all he has every single day,” Kiser said. “He’s a ball coach. You see the old-style player to him, but yet he has the ability to connect with the younger generation.
“I know he galvanizes the group, pushes us forward and motivates us to get us to go out on a Tuesday and give it our all. He’s been a huge asset for Notre Dame, for sure.”
Golden learned one of his main coaching tenets from Joe Paterno, his coach at Penn State, that he still applies today.
“The overarching lesson that has always stayed with me is that if you take care of the person, the person will become what you want as an athlete,” he said. “It’s character development, community service, academics, discipline, forming great habits, being a team player.
“If you care about the relationship and if you care about the player as a person, he’ll take care of the rest. He’ll make the journey to become a really, really good football player.”
