Al Washington / Notre Dame Defensive Line Coach

Al Washington begins his first season as Notre Dame’s defensive line coach and will also serve as the team’s defensive run game coordinator. Washington has honed his skills as a defensive coach for over a decade and replaces Mike Elston, who returned to his alma mater, Michigan, during the offseason.

Washington played collegiately at Boston College and paid his dues while climbing up the coaching ladder. He began his coaching tenure as a defensive line coach at Rensselaer Poly Tech in 2007 before becoming a graduate assistant at North Carolina State the following year.

After then spending two seasons tutoring the Slippery Rock University defensive line, Washington moved on for one season as linebackers coach at Elon College in 2011.

Washington then returned for five years of coaching at his alma mater, handling a variety of different areas. He began in 2012 by coaching the Eagles’ special teams and defensive line before then serving as running backs coach for the next three seasons.

After one final season at BC as the school’s defensive line coach, Washington moved on to the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He only spent one season with the Bearcats, though he managed to get the attention of a fellow assistant, Marcus Freeman,

Washington’s 2018 season was spent at Michigan before coaching the next three years at Ohio State. At both schools, he served as linebackers coach. During his time with the Buckeyes, Washington showed a knack for developing aggressive linebackers who could get into opposing backfields.