Al Golden Once Helped Penn State Beat Notre Dame. He Reverses Roles in the Orange Bowl

Golden, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, was a Penn State captain and nearly its head coach. Now, he'll lead the Fighting Irish's stout defense vs. the Nittany Lions.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Al Golden watches warnups before the game against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

FORT LAUDERDALE | In the Notre Dame locker room last week, players passed around some ancient videos of defensive coordinator Al Golden. One was striking. Some Notre Dame players didn't even know Golden had played for Penn State nearly 40 years ago, much less that he caught a game-tying touchdown pass against their team in 1990. That floored them. But after some laughs, Golden quickly brought the players back from memory lane.

"If you know coach Golden at all, you know he hasn’t made this about him, or that this is his week, at all," Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser said. "He’s very much, 'This is for the players, this is Notre Dame against another team, this is not Al Golden vs. his alma mater.' It is a cool story, but he hasn't been up there preaching all week that you gotta beat them for me."

It's the last — well, maybe second last — subject Golden wants to address this week as Notre Dame prepares to meet Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame's third-year defensive coordinator was in the building at 7:30 a.m. every day last week, just as he was after the Irish got back at 4:30 a.m. from their season-opener at Texas A&M, and just as he was after Notre Dame's shocking Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. His sole focus was Penn State's offense, quarterback Drew Allar, tight end Tyler Warren and so on.

"I’m humble by nature, I’m focused by nature, I’m disciplined to a fault," Golden said two days before the Orange Bowl, as everyone wanted to ask him about something else.

Golden is a vortex around which this Orange Bowl will swirl narratively. He played tight end and was a captain at Penn State in the late 1980s, when the Nittany Lions met Notre Dame five times in his career. In 1990, Golden caught the game-tying touchdown pass of the Nittany Lions' 24-21 win over top-ranked Notre Dame. That remains Penn State's last win over a No. 1 team.

Eleven years ago this week, Golden nearly became Penn State's head coach, interviewing for the position multiple times before releasing a statement that he would remain the head coach at the University of Miami. James Franklin got the job and will face Golden on Thursday in the Orange Bowl, coincidentally in Miami. This week, Franklin referred to Golden as "one of us, he's a Penn Stater." Golden said that he'll always feel the same, though time and circumstances always change.

"I wish them well," Golden said of Penn State. "I haven't been back in a while, and it's really because my season runs congruent with them. All my friends go back, either for spring ball or to games during the season. ... So I wish them success and great things, but really, my focus has been on our journey [at Notre Dame]."

Golden, 55, navigated a wide-ranging 30-year coaching journey before joining Notre Dame's staff as defensive coordinator in 2022. He spent one season on Joe Paterno's staff, as linebackers coach in 2000, before becoming Virginia's defensive coordinator in 2001. Golden served as Temple's head coach for five seasons from 2006-10. He went 0-5 against Penn State, wearing a tie on the sideline for every game as a lesson from Paterno.

Paterno once said that he didn't understand why Golden left Temple for Miami in 2011, believing that Golden had something good going in Philadelphia. After Bill O'Brien left Penn State for the Houston Texans in 2014, Golden was considered a finalist, with Franklin, for the job. He didn't want to discuss that Tuesday in Florida but did recall his time at Penn State fondly. He was most proud of being voted a captain and playing for Paterno.

"The overarching lesson that has always stayed with me [from Paterno] is that, if you take care of the person, the person will become what you want as an athlete," Golden said.

Notre Dame DC and former Penn State tight end Al Golden was asked about the biggest lesson he learned from Joe Paterno.

Here’s his response. pic.twitter.com/lBtzqNdDzh

— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) January 7, 2025

Golden's Penn State ties have looped through his career. He played with Terry Smith, now Penn State's associate head coach and cornerbacks coach. Jim Caldwell, who coached Penn State quarterbacks when Golden was a player, hired Golden to coach tight ends for the Detroit Lions. Golden knows Penn State assistants Anthony Poindexter and Marcus Hagans from his days at Virginia. His teammates know he's still tied to them but don't try to connect much in-season.

"The guys who know me know it’s not like the old days," Golden said.

They know Golden remains as film-focused and process-hardened as he has been over 30 years of coaching. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman called Golden a "tireless worker" who is collaborative, motivational and experienced. "I don't even know if I have enough time to continue giving him compliments," Freeman said. Notre Dame cornerback Adon Shuler said he calls Golden "the Godfather."

"From the movie," Shuler said. "He’s so motivated, when he says something, things have to move." And Kiser called Golden simply "a ball coach."

"You see the old-style flair to him, but yet he as an ability to connect with the younger generation and knows how to galvanize the group and push us forward," Kiser said.

How will Golden respond to coaxching against Penn State for a spot in the College Football Playoff championship game? He's compartmentalizing that. But the experience will be unique.

"There's nothing in college football quite as unique as going back to your alma mater," said football analyst, and former Notre Dame player, Mike Golic Jr. "... They've got that familial bond that comes with, 'Hey, I bled for this place. I know what it's like to put on the uniform in a way that's so unique.' I'm sure it's still going to be strange seeing the uniform that he wore on the other side of that field now as the enemy in this game. It has to be a wild feeling for him. But I'd also imagine a pretty cool feeling to face your alma mater as someone who has to be reckoned with."

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