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.

ATLANTA -- Al Golden orchestrated a Notre Dame defense that ranked top 10 nationally across myriad categories and spurred the Fighting Irish's run to Monday night's College Football Playoff Championship.

"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."

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.

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?

That’s the best answer he could give, though it's not exactly a denial of interest in the Bengals. The Bengals were one of the worst teams in the NFL on that side of the ball an