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.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden responds to NFL rumors ahead of the CFP National Championship showdown against Ohio State. Could he be leaving South Bend for a return to the Bengals?

"Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has emerged as a top candidate to be the Bengals new DC, per me and Mike Garafolo," Rapoport wrote. "Coach Zac Taylor has been waiting for the National Championship to end before moving forward. Now that it has, he can speak with Golden & work thru it."

Coach Ryan Day shushed the critics, running back Quinshon Judkins scored three touchdowns, and the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes held off a furious second-half rally to beat No. 7 seed Notre Dame, 34-23,

Next up for Notre Dame is Ohio State with the entire sport watching. Here are three keys and a prediction of Monday night.

Monday will be the ninth time that Ohio State and Notre Dame have met in program history. The Buckeyes won the last meeting 17-14 in 2023 on a last-second touchdown in South Bend, Indiana. Golden will have the challenging task of stopping an Ohio State offense that ranks 12th in points (35.8) nationally.

Former Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is the other. The Notre Dame defensive coordinator is preparing for Monday night's National Championship Game against Ohio State. That's a big reason why the Bengals' search felt like it came to a halt earlier this week.