Sep 7, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Max Bullough (40) looks to sideline for the play against the South Florida Bulls during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mike Carter-Imagn Images

Fitzgerald Speaks on Hiring MSU Legend Bullough

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Feb 6, 2026 11:30 AM ET

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- One of the best linebackers in Michigan State history is back.

He's just a coach now, but one of the biggest early moves from new MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald was to bring back Max Bullough to be the team's new co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Bullough was previously the linebackers coach at Notre Dame.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Spartans and Fitzgerald were able to coax Bullough back to his alma mater with that promotion to co-defensive coordinator, though Joe Rossi will still remain on as the primary DC. Bullough's contract with MSU goes through the 2027 season and pays him $750,000 per year, making him the highest-paid position coach on the staff.

“Max Bullough embodies Spartan toughness,” Fitzgerald said in a press release when Bullough's hiring was announced on Dec. 18. “I coached against him when he led some of the best defenses in school history at Michigan State under Mark Dantonio, and he has continued to showcase his football knowledge by coaching at some of the best programs in the country after his NFL playing career. He will undoubtedly inspire our players to play with maximum effort. I’m excited to start working with Max and we welcome him back to East Lansing.”

More from Fitzgerald on Bullough

Fitzgerald held a press conference on Wednesday for National Signing Day. It marked his first time standing at a lectern since his introductory press conference, which was more than two months ago on Dec. 2. Understandably, questions were about much more than Michigan State's 2026 recruiting class. This gave him his first chance to speak publicly about several of his hirings, including Bullough.

"First of all, getting to know Max through the evaluation process when I was putting the staff together, you could sense very quickly beyond the double bicep [tattoo] for the Spartan football program, the state of Michigan, his time here, and what he wanted to bring back, and that was toughness," Fitzgerald said when asked about Bullough.

The good ol' days of Michigan State football is something Fitzgerald has brought up often. There is definitely some admiration for the program Dantonio built in East Lansing. Fitzgerald brought up that Dantonio's best teams had lots of players from Michigan and other Midwestern states --- Bullough being one of them, as a Traverse City native --- and that he wants to build through high school recruiting, rather than the portal.

"It was very evident, his love, his care, his passion for Michigan State football," Fitzgerald said about Bullough again. "And what has he added? I think he's added that wealth of knowledge of what it means to be a Spartan, his relationships, obviously, with where he's from, in the region, in the state, the relationships he has, and then the great development of linebackers he's had in a short time at Notre Dame, I think speaks for itself."