Veteran defensive coordinator Chris Ash has accepted the job as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The hire is expected to be finalized by Notre Dame in the upcoming days, sources told ESPN.
Ash was an appealing choice because of his experience -- he has spent 24 years as a college coach. This will mark his fifth stint as a coordinator at a power conference school, and he brings recent NFL experience.
He has had high-end results in his college coordinator jobs. Ash was the co-coordinator on Ohio State's national title team in 2014, coordinated the defense on two Big Ten title teams at Wisconsin and worked as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas (2013) and Texas (2020).
He'll replace defensive coordinator Al Golden, who helped Notre Dame reach the national title game this season before returning to the Cincinnati Bengals as the defensive coordinator.
Notre Dame returns a strong nucleus of defensive players, including linebacker Drayk Bowen, safety Adon Shuler and cornerback Leonard Moore.
Ash has coached four top-25 defenses in his career and helped develop players like Joey Bosa, Marshon Lattimore and Denzel Ward at Ohio State. The Buckeyes' 2015 defense finished No. 2 nationally. In both his seasons as Wisconsin's defensive coordinator, the Badgers finished top 15 in defense.
He also brings a head coaching perspective from his time at Rutgers and NFL expertise -- a similar profile to Golden's experience at Miami and Temple and in the NFL before spending three years as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator. Ash worked as the head coach at Rutgers from 2016 to 2019. After spending the 2020 season at Texas, he spent the past four seasons in various roles in the NFL.
He spent 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars (safeties coach) and the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Raiders (defensive backs coach) before returning to the Jaguars in a personnel role last year. Ash brings extensive experience in the Midwest, as he has worked at Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa State and Drake.
Ash will join an experienced staff that has been a strength under coach Marcus Freeman, who came to Notre Dame as a defensive coordinator before being elevated. It includes line coach/run game coordinator Al Washington, defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Mike Mickens and linebackers coach Max Bullough. Special teams coach Marty Biagi works as the assistant defensive backs coach.