Notre Dame makes official hiring of Brian Jean-Mary as Fighting Irish linebackers coach

The first assistant coaching position to come open on the Notre Dame staff this offseason was linebackers coach. It was finally filled for good Saturday, per a news release from the Fighting Irish.

Brian Jean-Mary is officially Notre Dame’s new linebackers coach.

Max Bullough left for his alma mater, Michigan State, in December. Notre Dame eventually moved former defensive line coach Al Washington over to coach the linebackers, but he recently left the staff to take a job with the Miami Dolphins. Following that departure, the Irish moved pretty quickly in targeting Jean-Mary. Reports indicating his pending hire surfaced at the beginning of the week, just a few days after it became clear Washington wouldn’t be with the program any longer.

Jean-Mary arrives at Notre Dame out of Michigan. He was the Wolverines linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator the last two seasons. He’ll hold the same exact title in South Bend.

Jean-Mary was Louisville’s assistant head coach when the Cardinals had success under the direction of head coach Charlie Strong. The Cardinals went 23-3 in Jean-Mary and Strong’s final two seasons working together at Louisville in 2012-13.

Jean-Mary followed Strong to Texas from 2014-16. It didn’t work out quite as well for them in Austin. In three seasons, the Longhorns logged an overall record of 16-21. Still, Jean-Mary coached future Super Bowl champion Jordan Hicks in 2014. He also coached Malik Jefferson, who was a third-round NFL Draft pick out of Texas in 2018. Both Hicks and Jefferson were in Jean-Mary’s linebackers unit.

Jean-Mary stayed loyal to Strong from 2017-19. The two ended up at South Florida, with Strong once again as head coach, after their dismissal from Texas. In 2020, Jean-Mary branched out on his own and became the linebackers coach at Michigan. He was Tennessee’s linebackers coach from 2021-23 before going back to Michigan in 2024.

Here is “The Jean-Mary File,” courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics:

THE JEAN-MARY FILE

Hometown: Apopka, Fla.
High School: Apopka
College: Appalachian State (1998)
Wife: Jerilyn Ardis
Children: Brittany and Brooke

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

• 1993-97 Appalachian State (Linebacker)

COACHING CAREER

• 2000 Louisville Graduate Assistant, Strength and Conditioning
• 2001-02 South Carolina Graduate Assistant, Defense
• 2003 North Alabama Secondary Coach
• 2004-09 Georgia Tech Linebackers Coach
• 2010-13 Louisville Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach
• 2014-16 Texas Linebackers Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
• 2017-19 South Florida Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
• 2020 Michigan Linebackers Coach
• 2021-23 Tennessee Linebackers Coach
• 2024-25 Michigan Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Linebackers Coach