The Most Important Thing Bengals Defensive Coordinator Al Golden Said in Introductory Press Conference

Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden spent 30+ minutes meeting with the media on Monday afternoon.

He thanked Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman. He praised Zac Taylor and the Bengals organization. He had great things to say about Cincinnati, discussed his defensive scheme and made it clear that he didn't plan on taking any time off—even though Taylor thinks he should take a day or two to recoup after helping Notre Dame make it to the National Championship Game.

Golden said a lot and it was insightful, but the most important thing he said had to do with young players, his mindset and approach with getting them ready to make an impact.

Whether it's a draft pick in April or young players already on the roster—the Bengals have to maximize the talent they do have?

"How good can you get onboarding when the rookies come in? Because I think the one thing that we were proud of last year in South Bend was the number of freshmen that played for us and played significantly," Golden said. "And to do that, you have to be great at onboarding. "There has to be a quick transition. They have to know precisely where their eyes need to go in the playbook, exactly what techniques we're teaching. Take the source to them, go right to them in terms of how they learn best, and whether that's on their phone, through video, whatever that case may be, just make it really, really accessible, so they can be a continuous learner. And I think that's going to start the second we get that phone call and we draft somebody."

The Bengals need to find a way to get instant impact rookies on defense. Players that can bolster their pass rush, ability to cover—and are disciplined tacklers.

They also need to get more out of some of the young players on their roster. Guys like Dax Hill, Myles Murphy, Jordan Battle, DJ Turner II, Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson have talent. How can this staff get more out of them?

"It starts with the head coach, starts with Zac, starts with the strength staff, starts with nutrition, starts in the training room, just everybody being on the same page, and then just having a clear plan for them. I think it's really important," Golden said. "I don't want anything to be gray. I want the guys to be stimulus response defense, just when you recognize, go. And part of that is just how do we make it quiet in their minds? And we do that in the offseason with development, with making sure that each player knows the two or three things that they got to get better at while we're learning the systems and just really drilling down on that, because everybody needs to improve."

The Bengals' defense struggled for most of the 2024 season. Getting more out of top draft picks has to be a big part of the plan to improve. Of course, they'll add talent this offseason, but they need to grow in a bunch of areas if they're going to turn this around in 2025.

"We're going to make sure it's a really tight package and make sure it's condensed in terms of what they need to improve on and keep it small, keep it small, keep it small, refine it," Golden said. "Play fast, play with energy and play together."