Why Notre Dame is ‘home’ to graduate assistant Max Bullough
Max Bullough knew Nick Saban as “coach” — just, “coach” — long before Tommy Rees ever did. Long before Tyler Buchner ever did. Bullough, Notre Dame’s graduate assistant linebackers coach for James Laurinaitis, accomplished with Saban what former Fighting Irish offensive stalwarts Rees and Buchner are working toward now.
He won a national championship with the Crimson Tide in the 2020 season.
Three years later, Bullough has the same job title in South Bend as he did in Tuscaloosa. Job titles don’t always equate to job duties, though.
“I know it’s the same role on paper, but I’m able to be a little more hands-on with the linebackers than I was at Alabama,” Bullough said Friday. “So that was the real, main reason that I left there; the opportunity to work closer with the linebackers than I was in the previous three years.
“And then obviously, the opportunity to come to Notre Dame.”
That’s a trite expression. It’s been used by many coaches who have come before Bullough and will be used by many after. Heck, it’s still regularly tossed around by head coach Marcus Freeman. He’s absolutely and outwardly enamored by his workplace. He isn’t the only one.
For Bullough, though, it’s different.
The call to work from Freeman this past winter had sentimental value right away. Bullough didn’t have to see it to believe it. Unlike other coaches who are ultimately moved by the majesty that floats from Notre Dame Stadium to Touchdown Jesus to the Golden Dome and down through the Grotto, the 31-year-old Bullough had already experienced all of it all for himself. Many times. Bullough’s maternal grandfather is 87-year-old Jim Morse, a three-year starter at halfback for Notre Dame in the 1950s.
“I’ve been coming here ever year since I was a kid,” Bullough said. “Obviously there was a little lapse in the last 10 years, but I’ve known about this place since I was a kid. It’s always been special to me.”
The lapse coincided with Bullough’s playing career; a mighty fine one. He was a MaxPreps All-America Second Team member at Traverse City (Mich.) St. Francis. The venerable Phil Steele ranked him as the No. 17 overall linebacker prospect in the country coming out of high school. His recruitment came down to Michigan State and Notre Dame.
Bullough chose the former mostly because of memories made with his father, Shane, an MSU linebacker in the 1980s. Bullough also had two uncles, Chuck and Bobby, suit up for the Spartans. Another uncle, Jamie, was a Notre Dame defensive back.
“It was always between Michigan State and Notre Dame,” he said. “What really tipped the scales, to be honest, is my dad went [to MSU] and played there. It was an emotional thing. We’d go to games and he’d put Thunderstruck on. I was just a kid. It just is what it is. But this place was equally as special.”
Bullough, who has “SPARTAN” spelled out in big, bold lettering on the inside of his right bicep and “PRIDE” on the left, met the Fighting Irish all four years he resided in East Lansing. Notre Dame triumphed three times out of four.
Bullough still had plenty of individual success as a college player. Michigan State wasn’t void of it despite the results vs. Notre Dame, either. Bullough was a Second Team All-Big Ten member as a sophomore. He was a First Team All-Big Ten selection as a junior and senior. He was also a team captain in both of those campaigns.
In all, Michigan State went 42-12 with three bowl wins in the four years Bullough was there. It was one of the most prolific four-year stretches in program history. In Bullough, Notre Dame has an assistant who knows first-hand what success at the college level looks like.
That’s as a player at Michigan State and a coach at Alabama.
“The amount of knowledge he brings, it’s a different perspective from someone like James Laurinaitis or [Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al] Golden,” Notre Dame graduate student linebacker JD Bertrand said. “He’s very relatable, so that’s been really cool. He’s relatively close to the college age so he’s able to talk us through different situations and even life outside of football.”
“He’s smart,” Golden added. “He’s tough. When you’re doing the job that he’s doing, you’ve got to be mentally tough. He’s mentally tough. He brings it every day. He’s brought ideas, both with NFL experience and also from Alabama that I think has made us better.”
Sep 7, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Max Bullough (40) prepares for the snap of the ball during the 2nd half of a game between the Michigan State Spartans and the South Florida Bulls at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 21-6. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Nobody’s perfect
Not all of that NFL experience is worth emulating by Notre Dame’s current linebackers.
As a member of the Houston Texans, Bullough was suspended for violating the NFL’s performance enhancing drugs policy in May 2017. He was released a month later. After appearing in 30 games from 2014-16, Bullough never played another down in the league.
He took ownership for his downfall.
“Football is always going to be over at some point,” he said. “When you’re a great one and do things the right way, you get to do that on your own terms. Sometimes you don’t know when to hang it up and they kick you out. But for the most part, you do things right and you get to leave on your own terms.
“When you don’t do the right things, things happen to you that are out of your control and you can’t handle them. What we preach is control what you can control. Do the right things at the right time and don’t put yourself in those situations to have to explain whatever it is. Got to do that on the front end, not the back end.”
Aug 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Max Bullough (53) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Bullough lived and learned. He landed on his feet in coaching. The Houston debacle wasn’t all for naught, either. Current Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was the Texans’ linebackers coach when Bullough was rostered. He recently said on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast that Bullough was one of the smartest players he has ever coached.
Saban utilized that intelligence at Alabama. Freeman and Golden are using it now at Notre Dame.
“Just the detail in each play that he breaks down, he’s very detailed,” Bertrand said. “He tells us every little thing. He’s correcting every little detail of every single play. It might make film meetings go a little long, but it’s really good.”
Bertrand said Bullough is a “high-energy dude” during practices, meanwhile. Meticulous in the film room. Relentless on the field. All football, all the time is always the way he’s been wired. Through his grandfather playing at Notre Dame in the 50s to his dad and uncles at Michigan State in the 80s, Bullough was born to be around the game.
“Football has always meant a lot to me, specifically when I was playing,” Bullough said. “That’s to a fault sometimes. That’s what I was and who I was. I got in a little trouble when I got done but figured out what to do.
“Football is what I’ve always given the most respect to. It’s what has always humbled me more than anything else. It’s hard for me to walk into an office and think, ‘I’ve got to be there at 7.’ But if I got to walk into football and it’s, ‘You better be there at 5:30,’ then I got no problem with that.”
Better yet? He gets to do it at a sentimental place.
“This is as close to coming home as it gets,” Bullough said. “Our parents’ house is three and a half hours north. I’m familiar with this area. This is home to me.”
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