Bengals' tea leaves tell us who will replace Lou Anarumo as defensive coordinator

After the Cincinnati Bengals scapegoated Lou Anarumo for all their problems, it seems as though they will be bringing in a familiar face to replace him at defensive coordinator. Cincinnati's defensive coordinator search has been rather brief. Right now, the two candidates they have shown interest in are Patrick Graham of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Al Golden, who still leads the Notre Dame defense.

Because Antonio Pierce was let go earlier in the offseason, Graham is essentially free to interview for any job he wants. At one point in time, he was a well-thought-of, head-coaching candidate on the rise, but that no longer looks to be the case. As for Golden, he was on Anarumo's defensive staff under Zac Taylor prior to taking over the defense for Marcus Freeman over at Notre Dame a few years back.

Since the Fighting Irish are taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Atlanta on Monday night, we may have to wait a few more days until we potentially see Golden leave the college game behind for a second time. Again, his familiarity with Taylor and the Bengals organization makes him an overwhelming favorite to get this coordinator gig.

Conversely, if an NFL team were to poach Freeman, would Golden not be the favorite to replace him?

Notre Dame DC Al Golden to replace Lou Anarumo on Cincinnati Bengals

For the better part of the college football season, I kept asking myself this: "Isn't Golden overqualified to be a college defensive coordinator?" While this has been to Notre Dame's benefit, I do have vivid memories of Golden sweating through his dress shirt in the South Florida humidity when he was coaching at Miami. Prior to that, he had a great run of success while leading the Temple Owls of old.

At this stage of the game, Golden needs to ask himself what he wants to do for the rest of his coaching career. He could remain a top-flight coordinator on a national championship contender at Notre Dame for years to come. Should Freeman ever leave, maybe he is the ideal internal option for the Golden Domers? However, since he has tasted success in the NFL, I think it might be hard to quit.

That is why if he is offered the job to be the Bengals' next defensive coordinator he should take it. Joe Burrow is still one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL today. The best thing Golden has in his favor besides having success at Notre Dame now and having a previous connection to the Bengals is this. You can argue the Bengals defense got worse as soon as Golden left for Notre Dame.

Of course, letting their best defensive player Jessie Bates III walk in free agency is far more damning.