Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaching staff has many Cincinnati-area connections

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head football coach Marcus Freeman was the Cincinnati Bearcats' defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020 before he joined ND's coaching staff as defensive coordinator in January 2021 and became the team's head coach later that same year, when Brian Kelly left for the LSU Tigers.

So it's no surprise that the Dayton native and former Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker has some Cincinnati-area connections on his coaching staff.

Earlier this week, former Miami University great Deland McCullough, who became Notre Dame's running backs coach in February 2022, added associate head coach to his title. McCullough's 4,368 rushing yards at MU rank second in school history behind Travis Prentice.

Here are others on Freeman's staff in South Bend who have coaches, played or coached and played in Cincinnati:

Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Al Golden

Before accepting the job at Notre Dame, Golden coached the Cincinnati Bengals' linebackers under head coach Zac Taylor in 2020 and 2021.

Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Denbrock

Denbrock was the Bearcats' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2017 to 2021. He worked with Freeman at UC for four of those seasons.

Denbrock spent two seasons with Brian Kelly at LSU before heading to South Bend this past December.

Wide receivers coach Mike Brown

Brown coached UC's wide receivers from 2019 to 2021, and added the title of passing game coordinator for the Bearcats in 2022. He worked for former UC head coach Luke Fickell at Wisconsin last season, and was hired by Notre Dame in December 2023.

QBs coach and pass game coordinator Gino Guidugli

Guidugli, named Notre Dame's QBs coach in March 2023, starred at Highlands High School before playing QB for the Bearcats from 2001 to 2004.

While Freeman was at UC, Guidugli was RBs coach in 2017, QBs coach in 2018 and 2019, and passing game coordinator in 2020. Guidugli was the Bearcats' offensive coordinator in 2022, and he spent a few weeks as Wisconsin's passing game coordinator/tight ends coach under Fickell before joining Freeman in South Bend.

Cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator Mike Mickens

Mickens attended Freeman's alma mater, Wayne High School, before starring as a UC cornerback for four seasons. He was on the Bengals' practice squad in 2009, and returned to UC to become a defensive assistant in 2011.

Mickens coached the Bearcats' CBs in 2018 and 2019, and took the same job at Notre Dame in 2020, adding the title of defensive pass game coordinator in 2023.

Defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator Al Washington

Washington was the Bearcats' D-line coach in 2017, Freeman's first season as UC's defensive coordinator.

Director of recruiting Chad Bowden

Bowden, an Anderson HS grad and the son of former Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden, was an assistant coach at Western Brown and Oak Hills.

Bowden attended UC and later became the Bearcats' director of recruiting. He reportedly turned down an offer from Michigan recently.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Notre Dame football coaching staff has Cincinnati-area connections