Hiring Max Bullough Could Have Lasting Impact on MSU Football
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Michigan State and new head football coach Pat Fitzgerald made a move that will have an impact for years to come.
On Wednesday, the Spartans got Max Bullough, one of the greatest linebackers in program history, to come back to East Lansing and join Fitzgerald's first staff at MSU as the team's co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Bullough was previously coaching the linebackers at Notre Dame, helping the Fighting Irish to the national championship game in 2024 and a 10-2 record in 2025.
"This is a natural progression for Michigan State football," a senior Michigan State University administrative source told Spartan Nation. "If you were to do a DNA sample of this program, we would test positive for Bullough. From Max's grandpa [Hank], his father Shane and Uncle Chuck, from all the way down to his brothers and even his sister, they could easily be considered the first family of Spartan athletics."
Bullough made 299 total tackles during his four seasons at MSU. The Spartans went 42-12 during his time at the school, winning a Big Ten championship and the Rose Bowl (for which he was suspended for violating team rules) during his senior season in 2013.
Lasting Impact
What's clear is that Michigan State is trying to rekindle some of the culture that Mark Dantonio had during those early-to-mid 2010s years, which stand as the peak of Spartan football during the modern era. Fitzgerald, another former linebacker, is a defensive-minded coach known for doing more with less. He also had to face those prime MSU teams on the Northwestern sideline; Bullough's four Michigan State teams went 3-1 against the Wildcats.
Of course, Bullough knows very well what that kind of culture looks like, as well. He was a team captain in 2012 and 2013. He and Fitzgerald know what it's like to lead a defense at a high level against Big Ten competition.
Additionally, Bullough is likely going to be in no hurry to leave. He tattooed "Spartan Pride" on his biceps for a reason. He's a Traverse City native, as well. Current New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel named Bullough as one of the smartest players he's ever seen, which helps explain why he's risen from Notre Dame graduate assistant in 2023 to MSU co-defensive coordinator in 2026.
"Bringing Max home where he belongs in green and white should put a twinkle in every Spartan's eye this Christmas season," the same source said. "And what the dreams of what his future could be one day, many years from now, when Pat retires."
Fitzgerald's retirement could be a very long way away --- he's only 51 --- but there always needs to be a succession plan, just in case. Bullough is only 33 years old and is on a trajectory to become a head coach someday. It'll probably happen if/when he proves himself as a coordinator at the Big Ten level and gains some more experience.
As his move from Notre Dame to Michigan State shows, many roads lead back to East Lansing for him. Perhaps Bullough becomes a head coach elsewhere for a time, and maybe, when the day comes for MSU to find a new football coach again, the Spartans will know where to look again.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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