Wanna know the genius of Al Golden at Notre Dame? Just watch the highlight tape of that 2023 blowout against the Irish’s fiercest rivals, the USC Trojans. While many predicted a Notre Dame win, no one had envisioned that it would be a 48-20 humbling of Lincoln Riley’s team. Golden in that game nearly handcuffed Caleb Williams and overwhelmed USC’s offense with the dynamic use of his brilliant safety, Xavier Watt, in mixed zone and man coverages. The result? Golden’s defense forced five turnovers, along with 3 interceptions of Williams, and won that game. Marcus Freeman had his defensive mastermind in Al Golden, and with his help him he orchestrated the 2024 season.

If the 2023 season had some of the most brilliant moments for Al Golden, the 2024 season was a full-blown highlight reel for the man. Golden led the Irish to some of the biggest margin wins. For instance, the 66-7 rout of Purdue was notable, and the 31-13 thumping of Georgia Tech was a defensive masterstroke. Notre Dame stood 10th nationally in total defense, conceding just 307.8 yards per game, improving from the 2023 session, where they conceded 360 yards per game. But as the 2024 season ended, Golden announced his departure to the Bengals in the NFL, and Marcus Freeman was left in a big conundrum.

Initially, the Irish head coach tried to rope in Jim Knowles, whose relationship soured at Ohio State and who was looking for a new program. However, Penn State edged Freeman with a north of $3 million per year offer, and Knowles finally slipped away. One name that surfaced repeatedly as a potential in-house solution was the promotion of Mike Mickens, the CB whisperer. “I absolutely think Mike Mickens is ready to be a defensive coordinator. That’s why we gave him the passing-game coordinator title during the offseason. He is a tremendous football coach, schematically and in the fundamentals of playing the cornerback position,” said Freeman in October 2023. However, when the vacancy at Notre Dame finally opened for the DC spot after Golden’s departure, the head coach hired Chris Ash instead. But why?

On 29th May Episode of ‘Notre Dame Football on Blue and Gold’, Tyler Horka relayed the actual reason why Freeman passed over Mickens over Chris Ash. “He was looking for some traits there. And to me, reading between the lines, it’s experience, it’s having been at multiple places at multiple levels of coaching football, and he saw those things in Chris Ash.” Tyler then pointed out the high stakes of the 2025 season and how Marcus Freeman decided not to go with Mickens due to his inexperience as DC. “He’s seen Chris Ash do both of those things before, and that’s what he wanted to bring in replacing Al Golden for that position.” So, what does Chris Ash provide as DC?

Chris Ash is a seasoned veteran coach who has been the head coach of Rutgers from 2016 to 2019 and has had stints in different defensive positions in the NFL over the years. So, Ash’s experience and coaching philosophies are well known and documented, which Marcus Freeman probably took into consideration. Moreover, Ash’s stint with Urban Meyer at Ohio State brought in the national title in 2014, which again could have been a major factor. Since Marcus Freeman is also pursuing that elusive national championship, having a proven winner on his team is a significant advantage.

Marcus Freeman finally opens up on Chris Ash’s hiring

The 2025 season will not be easy for Notre Dame. They do not have their proven quarterback, Riley Leonard, with them, and Al Golden, who was on a $2 million contract, also left. Chris Ash does provide the proven defensive prowess. But it’s been 4 years since he was the DC in Texas, and the performance we saw with him there was impressive, but not spectacular (improved Texas defense from 91st to 64th). Then there are concerns about rustiness since Ash has been out of the calling game for 5 years now. Still, Freeman had his reasons for hiring him.

“Chris’s experience of coordinating and leading great defensive units at multiple places really resonated with me. His experience both in the NFL and as a head coach is a valuable asset, he can bring to our program. Chris has a great reputation for being a coach who builds strong relationships while simultaneously developing his players, and that makes him a great fit for this role,” said Marcus Freeman recently in a press briefing.

Even if Mike Mickens was hired in Ash’s place, it wouldn’t have been a bad decision. Since the man has shown his prowess in recruiting, and is touted to win the Broyles award. The only thing lacking in his resume was that prior ‘DC’ tag, and with the high stakes the 2025 season brings. But with Notre Dame eyeing the natty in 2025, Marcus Freeman, understandably, decided to go with a proven veteran like Chris Ash.