Former Michigan State football LB Max Bullough gets promotion with Notre Dame

Former Michigan State football linebacker and captain Max Bullough is rising through the coaching ranks with Notre Dame.

A Michigan State football alumnus is moving up in the coaching world. On Sunday, it was announced that Notre Dame would promote former MSU linebacker Max Bullough to be their full-time linebackers coach. He had previously been working as a graduate assistant.

The Irish offered Chris O'Leary a pay raise to stay in South Bend, per a source. He declined. He wants to coach in the NFL.

Notre Dame is expected to promote graduate assistant Max Bullough to linebackers coach. Mike Mickens would coach all of the defensive backs in that case. pic.twitter.com/KDFRisslN7

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) February 11, 2024

This promotion is exciting news and a huge step for Bullough’s coaching career. The difference between being a grad assistant and a full-time position coach is massive, both in title and in effect.

It’s fairly common to see a linebackers coach either get promoted or poached by another team to be a defensive coordinator — if Notre Dame’s linebacker unit excels under Bullough, it wouldn’t be surprising if that’s exactly what happens. Notre Dame’s current head coach Marcus Freeman was a linebackers coach at Purdue before eventually landing the team’s defensive coordinator job and eventually the Notre Dame head coaching job. As I said, this promotion is a massive jump for the former Spartan. If he can seize this opportunity, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him as a coordinator in a few years.

Bullough played for the Spartans for four years under Mark Dantonio, beginning in 2010. He totaled 299 tackles, eight sacks, and three interceptions across those years, being named a team captain and leading a defense that ranked top-10 nationally for three out of his four seasons. After this decorated college career, Bullough spent a couple of years in the NFL, primarily with the Houston Texans. He later held graduate assistant jobs at Cincinnati and Alabama before ending up with the Irish.

Still just 32 years old, Bullough is an ascending young coach in the world of football and definitely a guy to keep an eye on.

Stay tuned.