Entering the season, he did not have an enviable task.
He was joining a defense that finished 113th out of 119 NCAA
teams in total defense; his three starting linebackers ““
Spencer Havner, Wesley Walker and Justin London ““ were all
graduating.
Although most would look poorly at his position, new linebackers
coach Chuck Bullough took an opposite attitude.
“I’ve never thought any team I’ve coached
didn’t have the opportunity to be a dominant defense,”
Bullough said. “That’s just my mindset. (If a coach)
ever goes into the players’ field thinking they’re not
any good, then they’re not going to be good.”
Bullough has good reason to be optimistic. He spent five years
as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears, and produced
Pro-Bowlers in Brian Urlacher and Ted Washington.
More importantly, last season
Bullough was part of a Western Michigan coaching staff that had
the biggest turnaround in Mid-American Conference history, going
7-4 after being 1-10 the previous season.
Now Bullough has a mix of veterans in juniors Christian Taylor
and Aaron Whittington, with underclassmen John Hale and Reggie
Carter to provide a stable linebacking corps.
“It’s good (to have a mix),” Bullough said,
“because you have a coach on the field in (Taylor), and you
tell him something, and he can tell people where to line up.
It’s a great luxury to have.”
The defense has thus far shown it can improve under Bullough. It
is currently ranked first in the Pac-10, allowing 235 yards per
game, and also first in the Pac-10 in rushing defense, which was a
big weakness for last year’s squad.
The Bruins have also held two straight opponents under less than
20 points for the first time since 2004.
But Bullough still feels there’s room for improvement.
“Well, I’m always a perfectionist, so I want more
out of them. I wouldn’t say we’re dominant, but we want
a good solid defense,” he said.
Bullough’s tough-nosed mentality may have come from his
father, who was known as the “Doctor of Defense” as an
NFL defensive coordinator for 23 years.
Regardless of its origin, his mentality certainly fits well with
that of new defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who also coached
in the NFL.
“When I coached with the Chicago Bears, I had two coaches
who worked with Walker with the Redskins. So when he was up for
this assistant coordinator job, they told him to check me
out,” Bullough said. “So I called them, obviously, and
asked them about DeWayne. So I knew from them that DeWayne was a
good coach.”
Thus far, the two coaches have teamed together to put up
impressive numbers for the defense.
But both know that the true tests for the Bruins still lie
ahead.
“They’re doing all right, but not to my
satisfaction,” Bullough said.
“My job is to push them past their limits, so that’s
what I’m going to try to do,” he said.