Notre Dame's Al Golden replacement comes with a bit of revenge against Ohio State

Chris Ash has been everywhere, man. The former failed head coach at Rutgers has been around football for a very long time. He is best known as being a defensive coordinator at multiple stops before and after that, including stints at Ohio State, Texas, and now Notre Dame. Yes, the former scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars is taking over as the defensive coordinator for Marcus Freeman.

This comes on the heels of former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden leaving South Bend for an opportunity to lead the Cincinnati Bengals defense, a unit he helped get to the Super Bowl three seasons ago on Zac Taylor's staff under Lou Anarumo's direction. Ash was also tied to the Ohio State vacancy that just opened up with Jim Knowles leaving for Penn State. Instead, he goes to UND.

This is the second outside hire Freeman has made at defensive coordinator since being promoted from within to succeed Brian Kelly. One would think that hiring coaches with NFL backgrounds like Golden and Ash have, it probably just goes to show why the league is so utterly infatuated with Freeman. Odds are, the scheme and program he runs at Notre Dame would work out well in the NFL.

This will be the fifth team Ash has served as a defensive coordinator before in his coaching career.

Ash has led Power Four defenses at Texas, Ohio State, Arkansas, Wisconsin and now at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame lands Chris Ash as its DC before he can return to Ohio State

Ash does not have to be the next Al Golden. He just needs to be himself to have a great shot of success at Notre Dame. For my money, these are the type of coordinator hires Freeman needs to keep making for as long as he is calling the shots in South Bend. Having guys with ample coordinator experience, possibly some NFL experience sprinkled in there, goes a long way toward staying on top.

To me, this is just another example of how comfortable Freeman is in his own skin. He is not afraid to bring in someone he has never worked with before or someone with just as impressive of a resume as he is starting to build. Simply put, Freeman is not getting lost in the politics of it all. On the contrary, he is continually choosing to surround himself with some of the very best teachers in the game today.

This will allow Freeman to grow and blossom as a head coach. He has already embraced the necessary CEO-type to win a national championship before he turned 40. Again, this is why his coaching style works both professionally and in the college game. Lesser head coaches would be intimidated by Ash's coaching chops. Freeman is confident to land him before Ohio State even could.

Losing Golden to the NFL seemed inevitable, but landing Ash is about as good you can do in all this.