Al Golden's urgency drives Bengals' offseason workouts as defense aims for a turnaround

CINCINNATI (AP) — Al Golden said when he was hired as the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator that he was going to demand a lot from his unit during the offseason workouts.

With the Bengals mostly through their practices during the organized team activities, Golden has lived up to his word.

“We can push the limits of our core fundamentals. We can try to see how many concepts we can efficiently get to, which I think is important, and then draw on that in training camp," Golden said. "Although it’s not as physical or perhaps as long as training camp, this does serve as a springboard and great foundation for us. Without this segment, it’s hard to start off where you want, so that’s why there's urgency right now for us.”

Urgency has been a theme throughout the offseason for the Bengals, who ended last season on a five-game winning streak but missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record.

Cincinnati has started the last three seasons with losses in its first three games. That includes last year's 0-3 start and a 4-8 mark before a late-season charge that fell short.

Even though there are restrictions on contact and how physical things can get during the optional workouts, Golden has made the most of the on-field and classroom time to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Cross training at positions, especially in the secondary, and knowing what everyone else is doing have been stressed repeatedly. That way adjustments can be made on the fly by players after a call is made.

“When you sit in on those unit meetings and you look at the pre-practice work and all the stuff that they’re getting as a unit, it’s a very hungry group,” head coach Zac Taylor said. "Al’s done a great job setting the standard in that room. The position coaches have followed suit, so I’m really excited about the direction that group’s heading.”

Golden was the Bengals linebackers coach during the 2020 and ’21 seasons before going to Notre Dame, where he was defensive coordinator for three years. Ten players Golden coached at Notre Dame went on to be selected in the 2023, ’24 and '25 NFL drafts.

Even though Joe Burrow led the league in passing and Ja'Marr Chase was the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to achieve the receiving triple crown — leading the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns — Cincinnati had a hard time containing opposing offenses, finishing 25th in the league in total defense (348.3 yards allowed per game),

The Bengals lost four games last season in which they scored at least 30 points, joining the 2002 and '18 Kansas City Chiefs as the only teams to do that.

All told, the defense allowed the fifth-most points in the league (414) and gave up a touchdown on 67.9% of opponent’s red zone possessions, the third-worst rate in the NFL. They also were eighth in missed tackles with 117.

One area where the Bengals were good on defense was forcing turnovers. They had 25 takeaways, which tied for seventh. But Golden has been placing an emphasis on wanting more by putting in four turnover stations, where players are honing their skills on creating and recovering fumbles or interceptions.

“When you're just constantly adding layers to your to your game, it becomes second nature in practice. So when we have training camp we’re always punching the ball. It’s not only going to help us defensively but also our offense,” linebacker Logan Wilson said.

There have also been some early encouraging signs of the defense's progress. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who is being moved all over the secondary, was lined up as the slot corner on Tuesday picked off Joe Burrow's pass intended for tight end Mike Gesicki.

“We could be moved anywhere. You just don’t know what we’re in with the disguises in coverage,” Taylor-Britt said.

Golden has done most of the installation though without a couple key players on the field. All-Pro selection and NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson did not attend voluntary workouts as he tries to get a contract extension. First-round pick Shemar Stewart and second-round selection Demetrius Knight Jr. are in the meeting rooms but not taking part in practices after not signing their rookie contracts or waivers to participate in workouts.

“Trey's a pro. Whatever he’s missing in person now, I guarantee you he’ll make it up and be ready to go by the time this comes to a resolution,” Golden said.

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From left, Cincinnati Bengals' Payton Thorne (10), Joe Burrow (9) and Jake Browning (6) walk to the field before NFL football practice Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) catches a pass as cornerback DJ Turner II (20) defends during NFL football practice Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden calls a play during NFL football practice Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden, second from left, walks along the sideline during NFL football practice Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

The Pentagon said Thursday that it is changing the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes so it concentrates on “reporting for our warfighters” and no longer includes “woke distractions.”

That message, in a social media post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's spokesman, is short on specifics and does not mention the news outlet's legacy of independence from government and military leadership. It comes a day after The Washington Post reported that applicants for jobs at Stars and Stripes were being asked what they would do to support President Donald Trump's policies.

Stars and Stripes traces its lineage to the Civil War and has reported news about the military either in its newspaper or online steadily since World War II, largely to an audience of service members stationed overseas. Roughly half of its budget comes from the Pentagon and its staff members are considered Defense Department employees.

The outlet's mission statement emphasizes that it is “editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command” and that it is unique among news organizations tied to the Defense Department in being “governed by the principles of the First Amendment.”

Congress established that independence in the 1990s after instances of military leadership getting involved in editorial decisions. During Trump's first term in 2020, Defense Secretary Mark Esper tried to eliminate government funding for Stars and Stripes — to effectively shut it down — before he was overruled by the president.

Hegseth's spokesman, Sean Parnell, said on X Thursday that the Pentagon “is returning Stars and Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.” He said the department will “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”

“Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Parnell wrote. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”

Parnell did not return a message seeking details. The Daily Wire reported, after speaking a Pentagon spokeswoman, that the plan is to have all Stars and Stripes content written by active-duty service members. Currently, Congress has mandated that the publication's publisher and top editor be civilians, said Max Lederer, its publisher.

The Pentagon also said that half of the outlet's content would be generated by the Defense Department, and that it would no longer publish material from The Associated Press or Reuters news services.

Also Thursday, the Pentagon issued a statement in the Federal Register that it would eliminate some 1990s era directives that governed how Stars and Stripes operates. Lederer said it's not clear what that would mean for the outlet's operations, or whether the Defense Department has the authority to do so without congressional authorization.

The publisher said he believes that Stars and Stripes is valued by the military community precisely because of its independence as a news organization. He said no one at the Pentagon has communicated to him what it wants from Stars and Stripes; he first learned of its intentions from reading Parnell's social media post.

“This will either destroy the value of the organization or significantly reduce its value,” Lederer said.

Jacqueline Smith, the outlet's ombudsman, said Stars and Stripes reports on matters important to service members and their families — not just weapons systems or war strategy — and she's detected nothing “woke” about its reporting.

“I think it's very important that Stars and Stripes maintains its editorial independence, which is the basis of its credibility,” Smith said. A longtime newspaper editor in Connecticut, Smith's role was created by Congress three decades ago and she reports to the House Armed Services Committee.

It's the latest move by the Trump administration to impose restrictions on journalists. Most reporters from legacy news outlets have left the Pentagon rather than to agree to new rules imposed by Hegseth that they feel would give him too much control over what they report and write. The New York Times has sued to overturn the regulations.

Trump has also sought to shut down government-funded outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that report independent news about the world in countries overseas.

Also this week, the administration raided the home of a Washington Post journalist as part of an investigation into a contractor accused of stealing government secrets, a move many journalists interpreted as a form of intimidation.

The Post reported that applicants to Stars and Stripes were being asked how they would advance Trump's executive orders and policy priorities in the role. They were asked to identify one or two orders or initiatives that were significant to them. That raised questions about whether it was appropriate for a journalist to be given what is, in effect, a loyalty test.

Smith said it was the government's Office of Personnel Management — not the newspaper — that was responsible for the question on job applications and said it was consistent with what was being asked of applicants for other government jobs.

But she said it was not something that should be asked of journalists. “The loyalty is to the truth, not the administration,” she said.

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

US soldier Sgt. John Hubbuch of Versailles, Ky., one of the members of NATO led-peacekeeping forces in Bosnia reads Stars and Stripes newspaper on Sunday Feb. 14, 1999. (AP Photo/Amel Emric, File)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stands outside the Pentagon during a welcome ceremony for Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi at the Pentagon, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf/)

FILE - A GI with the U.S. 25th division reads Stars and Stripes newspaper at Cu Chi, South Vietnam on Sept. 10, 1969. (AP Photo/Mark Godfrey)