Tag: Coaching

Watch Notre Dame Linebackers Coach Max Bullough Mic’d Up at Practice

Talk about a hands on approach…

There are coaches that are hands on and then there is flat-out hands coaching.

Notre Dame linebackers coach [autotag]Max Bullough[/autotag] is clearly part of the later.

Bullough, who was on the Cleveland Browns roster as recently as 2018, has climbed the coaching ladder since getting into the profession.  After being a graduate assistant at Cincinnati and Alabama from 2019-2022, Bullough came to Notre Dame in 2023 in the same role.

This past off-season he was promoted to linebackers coach in a reshuffling of assistants after safeties coach Chris O’Leary left for a job with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Bullough was mic’d up at a recent Notre Dame spring practice.  It wasn’t as much as what he had to say while coaching that gets your attention, instead it’s about how he does it and that’s by being as hands-on as one possibly can.

See for yourself below:

Bullough was listed at 6-3, 249-pounds during his playing days and it’s safe to say the former Michigan State standout hardly appears to look any different than his playing days.

Not that it doesn’t happen on plenty of other staffs across the country but this approach absolutely has to be a selling point if you’re a star high school linebacker trying to make your college choice.

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UNC football adds coach to unit that needs improvement

The UNC football team will be getting some much-needed coaching help on the special teams staff. Who did the Tar Heels hire on Monday?

We’re still over five months away from the start of college football season, but on Monday, the North Carolina Tar Heels have added another staff member.

And it addresses a unit that struggled in 2023 for the Tar Heels.

Per Inside Carolina, the Tar Heels are adding  Eric Mele as a special teams analyst.  Mele comes from Mississippi State, where he was the special teams coordinator in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

In terms of kickoffs and punts, North Carolina was among the ACC’s worst in 2023. They ranked 13th in kickoffs, second-worst among all programs, plus dead-last in punting.

“Put a good gameplan in, hope we can execute, and change the game in a positive fashion,” Mele said about the impact of special teams in an interview last year with 247Sports. “Get us on the board and get that momentum. Special teams is all about momentum, so if we can it in our favor that would be a good deal.”

Mele has a solid kicker to work with in Noah Burnette, who made 19 field goals and all 43 of his extra-point attempts. If Ben Kiernan is healthy for Week 0, Mele will likely spend more time coaching him than Tom Maginness.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

The youngest coach is going viral and he’s adorable

4-year-old Christopher “Coach CB” Bess is going viral for his coaching styles of Tarboro High School boys basketball in North Carolina.

Many youngsters dream of being on the hardwood. To score game-winning baskets. To carry teammates to a championship. To be elected into the Hall of Fame.

This young child looks like he has a different sort of plan for his basketball career.

Over the weekend, 4-year-old Christopher Bess went viral for a video serving as a coach on the sidelines of a Tarboro High School game in North Carolina. The son of head coach Reggie Bess, little “Coach CB” has all the right moves as he paces the sideline,  tosses a drink to a player on the bench, and takes a knee just like his father. Take a look:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Gabby Sartori (@gabbysartori)

The elder Bess told WNCT that he first noticed last year when who he called his mother-in-love showed him a picture of CB kneeling behind him in a similar pose. Bess said now when he’s watching game film, he’ll be “captivated by him walking up and down the sidelines.”

Other cute things Coach CB does, according to Bess and WNCT:

  • When college basketball is on at home, he’ll get his coaching board and draw up Xs and Os.
  • He gave a riveting locker room speech with a quote along the lines of “‘I’m gonna coach my whole butt off — you’re gonna play y’all gonna play your whole butt off.”
  • Received warnings from referees at the games to stay in his own coaching box.

Just four days after posting the first video, Coach CB’s Instagram account reached 50,000 followers.

Wisconsin legend appears ready for his next coaching move

Wisconsin legend appears ready for his next coaching move

Longtime Wisconsin defensive coordinator and program legend Jim Leonhard has flown under the radar since leaving the program after the 2022 season.

Leonhard spent the 2023 season as an analyst on Bret Beilema’s staff at Illinois. An immediate jump back into the head coach or defensive coordinator ranks wasn’t in the cards; his name was seldom mentioned among hot candidates during the latest coaching carousel.

Related: Win totals released for Wisconsin, every Big Ten team in 2024 football season

A recent comment by Bielema gives clarity to Leonhard’s status entering the 2024 season. 247Sports’ Jeremy Werner posted to X that Leonhard is still on the Fighting Illini staff, and he could stay there entering the season if he doesn’t get a job elsewhere. The disclaimer: Leonhard is looking for a job not in college.

Connecting the dots, Leonhard is looking to jump to an NFL coaching staff and work his way up the ranks at that level. The league doesn’t require year-round recruiting or name, image and likeness licensing related headaches so it’s easy to see why it’s an attractive next step for his coaching career.

Related: Former NFL Coach Of The Year will ‘be around Wisconsin football in some capacity’ this year

Here’s Bielema’s full quote on Leonhard’s future:

“In theory, he is (on our staff), but we signed him with the idea that if he wants to do this then it would be open to come back to him,” Bielema said. “If he doesn’t have the things that he wants … not in college, I think we would be back at it. He literally sent a report a couple weeks ago that was unbelievably detailed and great ideas and thoughts. I reached out to him Tuesday night. I know he’s got some irons in the fire. That’s his business. Jimmy has been awesome. A very gifted coach in a lot of ways.”

The NFL is getting to the later stages of its coaching carousel. Most coaching staffs are in the process of being filled out after the head coaching carousel stopped.

Bielema said Leonhard has “some irons on the fire,” though. So maybe we should expect some news on the matter.

15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023: No. 8 Bobby Slowik

Up next in our “15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023” series is Bobby Slowik, who helped unlock rookie C.J. Stroud.

The Houston Texans had an extremely successful 2023 campaign.

They cruised to a 10-7 record under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and captured several accolades along the way. They won the AFC South and won a playoff game for the first time since the 2019 season. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud won PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, rookie edge rusher Will Anderson won PFWA’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, and even Ryans took home hardware with PFWA’s Coach of the Year.

With a revamped team effort that led to dramatic improvements compared to both the 2021 and 2022 Texans, it’s worth examining who created that impact this past season and what their future projects moving forward.

This series has taken a look at defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, running back Devin Singletary, rookie receiver Tank Dell, and veteran tackle George Fant, and upstart linebacker Blake Cashman.

Entering the top 10, we took a closer look at cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Christian Harris. Now, rookie offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik takes the spotlight.

Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy weighs on the Kalen DeBoer hire for Alabama

Former Alabama national champion winning quarterback Greg McElroy weighs in on Kalen DeBoer

After 17 years as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] called it a wrap on his legendary career.

Saban guided the Tide to nine SEC titles, six national championships and four Heisman Trophies. One of those national championships came in 2009 with starting quarterback [autotag]Greg McElroy[/autotag], who is now ESPN college football analyst.

McElroy never found the right opportunity in the NFL, but he found his calling as a broadcaster and analyst. He signed on with ESPN in 2014 before beginning to call games in 2016. Despite his obvious love and ties to the University of Alabama, he usually does a great job removing any sort of bias from his commentary — almost to the point where it makes ‘Bama fans mad.

As someone who has spent time at Alabama and knows what it takes to win in Tuscaloosa combined with his knowledge of the current college football landscape, there probably aren’t many people better positioned to weigh in on the hire. McElroy is a big believer in [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] and what he brings to the table for the Crimson Tide.

“I think this is a terrific hire for the Alabama Crimson Tide. In the 36 hours I got to spend with the Washington Huskies, I felt like I was a part of the team. We sat down with Kalen Deboer and his staff for the better part of three to three-and-a-half hours. I found that DeBoer is as approachable and as personably a guy as I’ve been around in the profession. … You talk to his players about him, and he’s willing to go the extra mile.”

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Mississippi State set to hire Alabama OLB Coach Coleman Hutzler as their next DC

Alabama football set to lose first coach from 2023 coaching staff

The season isn’t even over yet, but the annual Alabama Crimson Tide coaching staff purge has already begun. That is the gift and the curse of Nick Saban’s greatness. He elevates coaches and gets the absolute most out of them just to have opposing schools come in and snipe his hires.

The first member of the 2023 Crimson Tide staff to depart will be OLB and Special Teams coach Coleman Hutzler as Mississippi State is currently in the process of finalizing Hutlzer as their new defensive coordinator. Hopefully, Coleman is the only one we lose, but that’s just never how it goes.

It has been a difficult year in Starkville after the passing of Mike Leach on Dec. 12, 2022 and they are yet to find stability in the program. After Leach’s passing, the Bulldogs promoted DC Zach Arnett to become the programs 35th coach. Arnett was ultimately fired after a 4-6 start this season so the Bulldogs will be rolling into 2024 as a brand new regime.

Mississippi State hired Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby as their next head coach earlier in the week to help turn the program around. Hutzler is one of the first hires Lebby has made, and it is a massive one at that. People around the Alabama program speak and think very highly of Hutzler so it’s a loss that I’m sure stings Saban a bit.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama basketball drops six spots in Week 4 AP Poll 

Alabama basketball falls six spots in Week 4 AP Poll

After losing all three assistant coaches from the 2022-2023 season and Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney to the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft, Nate Oats had his work cut out for him this off season. Replacing three coaches as well as almost an entire roster is a tall ask for any coach, but what Oats did this summer was outstanding.

Despite all of the turnover and moving parts from being the No. 1 team in the country a season ago, Alabama is in a very promising position to start the year. The Crimson Tide are 5-1 to start the year with a really nice win over Oregon. The Tide’s lone loss came at the hand of the Ohio State Buckeyes who will be a tournament team when it is all said and done.

Offensively, the Tide has been outstanding this year behind Mark Sears and Grant Nelson, but there is still much to clean up on the defensive end. In fact, the Tide have the No. 1 ranked offense in the country according to KenPom, but the No. 61 ranked defense. The Week 4 NCAAM AP Poll has the Tide ranked as the No. 23 team in the country for their hot 5-1 start to the season.

Alabama will be back in action this evening as they take on the Clemson Tigers on ESPN in Coleman Coliseum.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02. 

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans would go for it again on fourth downs against the Ravens

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says he would still go for it on fourth down against the Baltimore Ravens following their 25-9 loss.

The Houston Texans made a statement in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.

After the Ravens committed a running into the kicker penalty against Ty Zentner to move Houston into a fourth-and-1 from their own 47-yard line with 10:59 to go in the first quarter, coach DeMeco Ryans sent the offense back onto the field at M&T Bank Stadium.

Rather than punt and play an early game of field position, Ryans went with his rookie quarterback and decided to push his chips to the center of the table.

Ryans’ gamble didn’t pay off as quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked for an 11-yard loss, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Ravens took over at the Texans’ 36-yard line with a favorable pathway to score first.

With 7:40 to go in the third quarter, the Texans went for it again as running back Dameon Pierce took a handoff for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Houston 42-yard line. The Texans were down 15-6 and the resulting possession led to a Ravens touchdown.

Despite Houston coming up short on both fourth down attempts, Ryans told reporters Monday after the 25-9 loss that he would have still had the same course of action.

“I was being aggressive with our team on fourth down, and both decisions, I’ll do it again,” said Ryans.

The Texans were 1-4 on fourth downs throughout the afternoon. While the success rate may be below the median, Ryans’ decisions to go for it are part of an overarching belief in the offense that they hope pays off down the road.

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DeMeco Ryans encouraged Texans to stay in contact with cut teammates

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says he told the players to stay in contact with their released teammates during the trimming to 53.

What makes DeMeco Ryans the ultimate players coach is that he was once a player.

The former Houston Texans 2006 second-round linebacker spent six seasons with his original draft team before finishing out his last four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. As Ryans experienced his first cut day as a coach, the experience brought him back to when he was first starting out in Houston.

“Before having to give the bad news to guys, I went back to being a young player and understanding you’ve battled with all these guys in training camp through preseason games, and now you come in one day and the locker room is different,” Ryans told reporters Aug. 30. “It’s a little quieter in the locker room, some guys are missing, and I remember the shock that it gave me as a young player, because everywhere you’ve played — from high school to college — no one ever tells you, ‘No, you can’t be on the team.’ So, it’s hard to deliver that news and say, ‘No, not at this time,’ so I reflect back to me being in that position as a young player, how it affected me.”

Along with any encouraging messages Ryans may have for players lost in the numbers game, the 39-year-old expressed to the remaining players how they could still continue to be good teammates with the players technically no longer in the organization.

Said Ryans: “So, when I talk to our team, I just make sure that guys who are on our team, that they realize, still, we need you to reach out to our other brothers, and make sure we’re connecting, make sure you’re checking on the guys, making sure they’re okay. We’ll have some guys come back eventually for practice squad, but make sure those guys feel that you care about them because of the special bond that you guys have built throughout OTAs and training camp.”

The Texans kick off the regular season Sept. 10 against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

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