What MSU's Bullough Says About Big Return to Alma Mater

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- One of the best linebackers in Michigan State history is back and ready to build up his alma mater back up to where he left it.

Max Bullough is one of the Spartans. He literally has "Spartan" tattooed on his right bicep with "Pride" on the other. When he arrived as a true freshman, MSU was coming off a 6-7 season in 2009. By the time he left, Michigan State had won two Big Ten titles and a Rose Bowl.

No Rose Bowl Suspension Reveal

Bullough was everywhere on the field with MSU. He finished up his four-year career with 299 tackles, 31.0 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, and three interceptions. He only ever missed one game with Michigan State: his last one. Bullough, a two-time team captain, was suspended for the Spartans' Rose Bowl game against Stanford on New Year's Day 2014 for a violation of team rules. The exact reason for the suspension has been a mystery since.

"I know you guys have been dying to ask that one," Bullough said when asked about the suspension. "Here's my answer to that one: so we just established that that was 13 years ago, right? My focus and my energy and my attention is on the 2026 Spartans."

Bringing Bullough Back

Bullough has had many interesting experiences since his playing days ended in East Lansing. He played for the Houston Texans for three seasons, soaking up the coaching of Mike Vrabel. Once it was time to get into coaching, Bullough worked his way up as a graduate assistant.

He started out at Cincinnati, a program on the rise under Luke Fickell. The Bearcats went 11-3 during Bullough's lone year on the staff. Two years later, they became the only Group of Five team to make the four-team College Football Playoff. Ironically, Bullough was on the other sideline when Cincinnati got there with Nick Saban's Alabama. "Nick Saban" is all one needs to hear to know what kind of culture Bullough got first-hand experience with.

Most recently, Bullough was at Notre Dame, working for Marcus Freeman. He was a graduate assistant there in 2023, then promoted to linebackers coach in 2024, where he remained for two seasons, helping the Fighting Irish reach the national championship game.

Bullough essentially has the same role back at his alma mater, but he also has the co-defensive coordinator tag. His salary of $750,000 this season is the highest among all of Michigan State's position coaches.

It's a big load of cash, but having Pat Fitzgerald running the show was a big reason Bullough was enticed back to East Lansing. Fitzgerald reached out to Bullough "pretty early on in the process" and made him one of his first hires.

"As soon as I heard Coach Fitz was getting the job... I knew that he would be a great fit here," Bullough said. "We played against him [at Northwestern]. I mean, the guy won every award when he played. He's a linebacker, he's a football guy. When you watch him out of practice, the guy loves ball. He just loves football. It's like he goes back to being 22 years old every time we're on the field."

Watching From Afar (Sort Of)

Bullough has admitted that he hasn't been able to keep track of the program that much in recent years. You don't get to be a rah-rah fan of your alma mater that much when you're working for another college football program.

Bullough's last appearance in East Lansing before getting the job here was back in 2014, when he was the honorary captain for a game against Ohio State. It was long enough ago that Bullough mistakenly thought it was in 2015.

Bullough's Full First Press Conference Back

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