Al Golden’s first year away from Notre Dame couldn’t possibly have gone as he’d hoped. His Cincinnati Bengals defense was one of the worst in the league, and the team finished the 2025 campaign with a 6-11 record, easily missing the playoffs. Despite the struggles, Golden got a big vote of confidence from his players as he gets ready for a second season in the Queen City.
While the NFLPA is not allowed to release its report cards on every team in the league, it’s found a way around that. Instead of officially releasing them, they leaked them, and the Bengals’ report card was about what most fans would expect. However, while most fans have been calling for the heads of both Golden and head coach Zac Taylor, the players don’t think they’re even a little bit of the problem.
The official report card for the former Notre Dame defensive coordinator gave him a B+, just behind the offensive coordinator’s and Taylor’s A- grades. In fact, the entire coaching staff cleared a passing grade by quite a bit, as no one got worse than the assistant coaches’ B-, but the ownership and front office weren’t spared.
Here are the Bengals NFLPA grades
Big upgrades for the Bengals locker room from the previous years.
Still lacking in nutrition and food.
Players actually love their coaches, it seems.
Ownership? Not so much. pic.twitter.com/T4y83QTwRJ
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) February 26, 2026Al Golden’s B+ grade shows Notre Dame football’s former DC still has his players’ trust
The Bengals’ GM, Duke Tobin, got a C while the owners got a D+. The worst grades of all were saved for the way the team treats families (F-) as well as the food and dining area.
All in all, it shows that the Bengals players, at least, believe that Al Golden and the rest of the coaching staff are among the best in the business. Now the former Notre Dame coordinator needs to back that up with a better 2026.