Unfortunately, the smoke surrounding now former Notre Dame football defensive coordinator al golden turned out to be true. According to a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Golden will take the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator position and has already informed head coach Marcus Freeman that he will be moving on.

Al Golden agreed to return to Cincinnati on Wednesday after three seasons as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. More: 3 Wolverines, 3 ex-Spartans make ESPN list of top 100 college football players from '24-25

One Notre Dame football player that improved their draft stock during Monday's national championship game is quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard didn't have a big season by any means, but he did play a good game against Ohio State as he was 22-31 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Leonard was a big part of the comeback.