Notre Dame football has wasted little time attempting to fill its defensive coordinator vacancy after losing Al Golden to the NFL. The Irish are eyeing former Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Chris Ash to join head coach Marcus Freeman's staff as the program attempts to build off its College Football Playoff runner-up finish this season, per The Athletic's Pete Sampson.

Sampson states, “Multiple sources tell The Athletic that former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash has emerged as a strong candidate to be Notre Dame’s next defensive coordinator. Ash is also a former defensive coordinator at Ohio State.”

There are similarities between Ash and Golden, as Sampson points out. Sampson posted, “Head coaching experience that didn’t work out (like Golden). NFL assistant coach after falling off the radar (like Golden). Not the *hot name* at time of hire (like Golden).”

Ash is most well known for his tenure as Rutgers head coach from 2016-19 after a solid two-year run as Ohio State co-defensive coordinator. Ash's time in Piscataway was an unmitigated disaster, with the Scarlet Knights going 8-33 over Ash's three-plus seasons. Rutgers fired Ash early in the 2019 season following a 52-0 loss to Michigan that marked his program's 14th consecutive Big Ten loss.

From there, Ash has bounced around with stops at Texas (defensive analyst/defensive coordinator, 2019-20), the Jacksonville Jaguars (safeties coach, 2021), and the Las Vegas Raiders (defensive backs coach, 2022-23).

Notre Dame football trending up after big season

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After a gut-wrenching 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 that could have derailed the Irish's season, Notre Dame went on an incredible run, winning 13 games in a row to make the CFP championship game. The Irish battled back from a three-touchdown deficit in that contest, eventually falling 34-23, although the game left Notre Dame fans with a lot of optimism for the future.

The Fighting Irish will have multiple key players to replace, including quarterback Riley Leonard and linebacker Jack Kiser, but Freeman believes his program is now at a place where they're able to reload and keep the momentum going.

“The outlook of Notre Dame football is extremely high,” Freeman told The Athletic following the championship game. “As long as the people in that locker room that come back understand what it takes, the work these guys have put in, there’s a lot of success in our future.”