The Golden Age of the Bengals defense began Thursday when head coach Zac Taylor filled his defensive coordinator job with Al Golden’s sweeping resume ranging from the NFL's Wild Card playoffs to college football's wild new tournament format.

Golden, fresh off leading Notre Dame's suffocating pro-style scheme to a national championship game appearance, returns to take over the defense Lou Anarumo led for six seasons.

Golden worked as Anarumo's linebackers coach for two years here and oversaw last-minute interceptions by Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson that set up 2021 playoff wins for the Bengals on the way to Super Bowl LVI.

"We're on the clock. Time to get to work," said Golden, known for his rugged work ethic on days that famously begin at 5:30 a.m.

No wake-up call needed Thursday.

His familiarity with Taylor's program went on display from the moment he walked into Paycor Stadium Thursday morning and first met with Bengals president Mike Brown.

Golden then moved on to the office of director of player personnel Duke Tobin before he went downstairs and doled out hugs to trainers Nick Cosgray, Roberto Cardona and Mike Houk as they kidded him about coming back.

"Hey," Cosgray said from across the Kettering Health Performance Center. "Like old times."

If it's like he never left, he didn't. His family stayed while he worked in South Bend, Ind., and he can document the Bengals games that he listened to on some of his many four-hour drives back and forth.

"All my kids went to school here and I have two still here. Cincinnati is home for us. To have this opportunity at this time is exciting," Golden said. "I know how Zac wants things done and how the entire organization operates lends itself to being familiar with everything. I was a huge fan of Zac's culture when I was here the first time."

Golden's biggest memory of the Super Bowl is the surreal feeling it was over as the Rams' confetti ended the dream run. A few days after that game, Golden joined head coach Marcus Freeman's staff at Notre Dame.

Both were at the fulcrum of the Fighting Irish's own dream march this season through the first 12-team playoff that ended Monday night in the 34-23 loss to Ohio State.

"He's been a tremendous hire for our program," Freeman said in an Associated Press story from last week. "Not just our defense. He is a tireless worker. He's got experience. He's intelligent. He finds a way to motivate his players and to get them to play at a high level. He's been huge."

Bengals safeties coach Jordan Kovacs can vouch for the tireless part. He worked directly under Golden in the Bengals linebackers room both seasons Golden was here and became accustomed to the grind of the details.

"I know the first day at work, I'm probably going to get an email at 5:30 a.m. and it's going to be very detailed about things we need to get rolling," Kovacs says. "And he's going to be dead on about them. Very hard worker. Very detailed.

"What I always appreciated about Al is that he's just a really good teacher. He does a good job keeping the game simple. Good positive energy. I'm excited about that."

Golden, like many NFL defensive coordinators, is going to stay with Anarumo's base defense of a 4-2 nickel. He says if they see double tight ends or two running backs, it's probably going to be four down linemen and three linebackers. And, he likes flexibility, a trait Anarumo also coveted.

But that may be all that looks the same. Golden says there will probably be some familiar things, but it's going to be in a new playbook.

"Certain parts will," said Golden when asked if the old playbook gets ripped up. "There are some things I'm really familiar with and there are certain things that we want to go in a different direction.

"At the end of the day, I have to be comfortable with it and the defensive staff has to be comfortable with it. We'll build that together … If there's no reason to change the way the kids can understand it, there's no ego. There's no reason to change it just to change it."

Golden taught Kovacs a lesson beyond Xs and Os in 2020, when the Bengals drafted three linebackers out of their seven picks. Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither and Markus Bailey all ended up contributing and Wilson and Davis-Gaither signed second deals. So did Pratt, who was in his second year in 2020. In 2021, the Bengals plucked second-year backer Joe Bachie off waivers in the spring and he's still here, as is everybody else but Bailey.

"For me, it was important to see that as a young coach," Kovacs said. "To identify the young talent and develop them. Those guys took big steps under Al's leadership. He paints a good picture. He sets the standard, he lives the standard, and he expects the standard from his players."

But as demanding as he is, and as meticulous as he is (from 2006-2015 he was one of the last college head coaches to wear slacks and a tie on the sidelines), he still connects with players.

"I call him the Godfather, like from the movies," Notre Dame safety Adon Shuler said in another AP story from last week. "He's just so motivated and when he says something, things have to move — and that's just how we play for him."

The Bengals like the fact that Golden, 55, has done everything from head coach news conferences (for five years at Temple University and five more at the University of Miami) to coach a tight ends room in Detroit (2016-17), and then go across the hall to coach linebackers before wreaking havoc on the country this past season as a coordinator.

Golden's defense came into the national title game holding 12 foes to 17 points or fewer. Only Ohio State did that. The Irish also came in leading the country in takeaways, second in points allowed per game, and eighth in yards allowed per game.

What also makes Golden attractive to the NFL is Notre Dame plays an independent slate of teams, meaning they have to be ready for every kind of offense rather than cookie-cutter schemes that fit into a league.

"He's been on both sides of the ball. He's got a great football mind," Kovacs says. "Whether it's man coverage, or true cover three, or a matchy zone coverage, he identifies the personnel and puts them in the right spot."

According to reports, Golden's defensive line coach is long-time college and pro coach Jerry Montgomery. Montgomery, 45, spent this past season in New England after spending the previous nine years in Green Bay as the Packers' longest-tenured assistant coach. During that run, he coached tackle Kenny Clark to three Pro Bowls.

Golden wasted no time as Thursday crept to noon and he went back upstairs to his new office to put together the staff that's going to put together the playbook.

"If you want to play fast during the season, you've got to push yourself through the offseason. The OTAs, the minicamps are going to be critical," Golden said. "I'm a big believer in not walking in on Tuesday and creating something. But rather drawing from the reservoir."