By Dan Zealley
Notre Dame made a run through the CPF to the championship game, falling short to Ohio State.
Defensive coordinator Al Golden left for the NFL to be defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to CBS Sports and 247 Sports, the Irish have hired Chris Ash.
Notre Dame is set to hire Chris Ash as its new defensive coordinator, sources tell @CBSSports/@247Sports.
Ash, who was being pursued for at least one NFL opportunity as well, was a head coach at Rutgers and has been a DC for teams like Texas. (ESPN 1st).https://t.co/qOetA1iLiU pic.twitter.com/Pfm7y89Cmw
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 29, 2025
Ash served as a defensive assistant until being hired by Bret Bielema at Arkansas, in 2014, to be the
defensive coordinator. He moved to Ohio State the following year. Ash helped lead the Buckeyes to the
national championship that year. In 2015, he was hired by Rutgers to be their head coach. In just over
three seasons, the Scarlet Knights went 8-32 and 3-26 in the Big 10. He was fired in 2019 after only four
games and a 1-3 start. After a one-year stint as Texas defensive coordinator, Ash has spent the last four
years in the NFL with Jacksonville and Las Vegas.
Ash takes over a very talented Irish defense. They finished 12th in the nation in total defense, giving up
only 290.9 yards/game and 5th nationally at 15.5 points/game. With his past success and extensive
experience, the Notre Dame defense should be in good hands with Ash.
