Max Bullough, who spent the 2023 season at the University of Notre Dame as a Graduate Assistant on the defensive side of the ball, has been named Linebackers Coach with the Fighting Irish by Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman.
Bullough completes the Irish defensive staff for the 2024 season with Bob Hinton Defensive Coordinator Al Golden, Pat and Jana Eilers Defensive Backs Coach/Pass Game Coordinator Mike Mickens and Defensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Al Washington.
A 2014 graduate of Michigan State, Bullough spent four years in the NFL with the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns before joining the 2019 Cincinnati Bearcats staff as a Graduate Assistant, working with current Notre Dame staffers in Freeman, Mickens, John and Bobbie Arlotta Family Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach Mike Denbrock, Wide Receivers Coach Mike Brown and Bob and Leslie Mohr Family Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Game Coordinator Gino Guidugli.
Bullough moved to the Alabama staff as a graduate assistant from 2020-22, helping the Crimson Tide earn the 2020 National Championship, before joining the Notre Dame staff for the 2023 season.
Working hand-in-hand with Golden and the Irish linebacking corps, Bullough helped JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau maximize their final years on the Irish roster. Bertrand led the team with 76 tackles (7.5 for a loss), while Liufau finished with 44 stops, six tackles for a loss and three sacks. Both Bertrand and Liufau will be taking part in the 2024 NFL Combine. Jack Kiser, who was third on the team with 62 tackles last season, will return in 2024 to provide a veteran play-making presence for the linebacker group. He was also instrumental in the development of Notre Dame’s younger linebackers Jaylen Sneed, Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry, who will be expected to play a larger role in 2024.
A Traverse City, Michigan, native, Bullough appeared in 53 games during his career with Michigan State, piling up 299 tackles, eight sacks and three interceptions as a middle linebacker. He was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and earned Academic All-America honors in 2013.
Earning his way onto the Houston Texans squad as an undrafted free agent, Bullough appeared in 30 games for the team, making four starts and posting 56 tackles during his professional career.
Bullough is both a legacy at the University of Notre Dame and Michigan State. His grandfather, Jim Morse Sr., played for Irish head coach Terry Brennan from 1954-56 and his uncle, Jim Morse Jr., was a cornerback under Dan Devine from 1976-77. Bullough’s grandfather, Hank (1952-54), father, Shane (1983-86) uncle, Chuck (1988-91) and brothers Byron (2014-18) and Riley (2013-16), all played football at Michigan State, while his sister, Holly (2016-20), ran track for the Spartans.