Notre Dame hires former Rutgers coach Chris Ash as defensive coordinator

Notre Dame is turning to another former college head coach to run its defense.

Days after Al Golden left to become the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, the Fighting Irish have hired former Rutgers coach Chris Ash to be their new defensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. Ash has been in the NFL since the start of the 2021 season and worked as a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024.

Golden, a former head coach at Miami and Temple, had been Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator for the first three seasons of coach Marcus Freeman’s tenure. Notre Dame had one of the best defenses in the country in 2024 as the Irish gave up just 15.5 points per game and 4.8 yards per play. Only four teams — including Ohio State, the team that beat Notre Dame in the national championship game on Jan. 20 — allowed fewer points per game.

Ash was the head coach at Rutgers from 2016-19 after working as a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Ohio State in the 2010s. Ash was the co-coordinator at Ohio State with current Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell when the Buckeyes beat Alabama and Oregon to win the first College Football Playoff at the end of the 2014 season.

Ash's tenure with the Scarlet Knights didn’t go well, however. Rutgers was just 8-33 in his time in charge after he was hired to succeed current Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood. Ash was fired in September 2019 after a 1-3 start to the season.

Since coaching Rutgers, Ash has worked for the Jaguars and Raiders. He spent a season as Jacksonville’s safeties coach in 2021 before coaching the Raiders’ defensive backs in 2022 and 2023.

At Notre Dame, Ash will have a strong returning core of defenders in 2025. Though the Irish lose players like Jack Kiser, Xavier Watts and Rylie Mills, players like Drayk Bowen, Adon Shuler and Jaiden Ausberry are set to return.