Hank Bullough obit

Michigan State football legend Hank Bullough dies at age 85

 

He was not on the list.

Michigan State football lost one of its most recognizable names.

Henry “Hank” Bullough, a former Spartan player and assistant coach and a member of the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, died on Sunday, the program announced on Monday afternoon. The patriarch of the “first family” of Michigan State football was 85 years old and suffered a stroke in 2014.

“Michigan State has lost a great Spartan and the game of football has lost a coaching legend,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said in a released statement. “I met Hank the first day I came to Michigan State as an assistant coach in 1995, when he was leaving as the defensive coordinator under Coach (George) Perles. He made an immediate impact on me.”

Bullough’s son, Chuck Bullough, is in his second season as Michigan State’s defensive ends coach. Bullough’s sons, Shane (1983-86) and Chuck (1988-91) played linebacker for the Spartans, as did grandsons Max (2010-13), Riley (2013-16) and Byron (2015-18).

Bullough, a native of Canton, Ohio, was a three-year starter at guard for Michigan State (1952-54) and was part of Biggie Munn’s 1952 national championship team and 1953 squad that shared a Big Ten title and won the Rose Bowl. He was picked by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1955 NFL draft and played two seasons for the team, in 1955 and, after serving in the Army, in 1958.

After his playing days ended, Bullough embarked on a long coaching career. He was an assistant coach at Michigan State for 12 seasons, with 11 under Duffy Daugherty (1959-69), including as the defensive coordinator for the 1965 and 1966 national championship teams, and one under Perles (1994).

Bullough also spent more than two decades coaching in the NFL and earned the nickname “Doctor of Defense.” He was an assistant coach for the Baltimore Colts, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, and won a Super Bowl as the linebackers coach with the Colts in 1970. Bullough was also the head coach of the Bills for 21 games between 1985-86. He also was hired as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL, but the team folded before he had a chance to coach a game. The Maulers were owned by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.

Bullough's first coaching position was at his alma mater, Michigan State, where he served for 11 seasons. In 1970, he became linebackers coach for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL) under head coach Don McCafferty.

As defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots in the 1970s Bullough is credited, along with his college teammate Chuck Fairbanks, with having been a significant figure in bringing the 3–4 defense to the NFL. After Fairbanks was suspended prior to the final game of the 1978 season, Bullough's and fellow assistant Ron Erhardt were named co-head coaches for the remainder of the season. After the season, Patriots owner Billy Sullivan appointed Erhardt head coach instead of Bullough. Bullough would remain defensive coordinator for one more season with the Patriots.

In 1980, new Cincinnati Bengals head coach and former Green Bay Packers teammate, Forrest Gregg wooed Bullough to install the 3–4 defensive system in Cincinnati. Two seasons later the Bengals would go to the Super Bowl where they fell just short against the San Francisco 49ers. While with the Bengals, Bullough also tutored Dick LeBeau who, not only would succeed Bullough as defensive coordinator but, is credited as the innovator of the 3–4 zone blitz scheme.

Bullough was named the president of the Michigan State Football Players Association in 2004 and later served as its executive director. He was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame’s 2013 class.

“Hank was a tremendous defensive coach and widely respected across the country,” Dantonio said in a statement. “He would actively come up to the offices and talk with our defensive coaches, and shared many ideas and philosophies over the years with our staff.

“Hank lived and breathed green and white. He was extremely active in the Michigan State Football Players Association and led the organization for a number of years. He was also instrumental in helping create the George Webster Scholarship Program, which is a huge benefit for our program.

“The Spartan football family sends our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Bullough family.”

Chuck had more than two decades of coaching experience in college and the NFL before returning to Michigan State when Mark Dantonio hired him following in January 2018. Shortly after getting the job, he gave his parents a tour of the Duffy Daugherty Building.

“My dad’s had a stroke so he’s had some tough times,” Bullough said in March 2018. “He didn’t quite understand that I was actually coaching here so I took him up to the office and now I think he realizes it. It was kind of a special moment for my mom, my dad and myself.”