Bush enjoying the ‘luxury’ of having dad on sideline
Michigan linebacker leaning on his father as he tackles NCAA competition
Nebraska set ANN ARBOR, MICH. up what seemed like a perfectly timed play, allowing Michigan’s hard-charging defence to rush up the field just before completing a screen pass.
There was one problem: Devin Bush Jr.
The star linebacker for the 14thranked Wolverines put his smarts, speed and strength on display in a matter of seconds. Bush recognized the screen coming. He sprinted to his right past two linemen and slammed his left shoulder into Cornhuskers running back Maurice Washington, driving him into the turf.
Unlike most fathers of college football players who are usually fans in the stands, Devin Bush Sr. saw the play unfold from one of the best spots in the Big House. The former NFL defensive back is one of Jim Harbaugh’s defensive analysts, a position that puts him in the presence of his son every day. Father and son don’t take the setup for granted, counting it as a blessing.
“It’s rare,” Bush Jr. said. “A lot of people don’t get that luxury. And a lot of people don’t even have dads to have that luxury.”
Bush Sr., who helped Florida State win the national championship in 1993, could afford to put his dreams of coaching at the highest levels on hold after his playing career ended in 2002. Atlanta drafted him in the first round in 1995 and he started in 71 of 116 games over eight seasons with the Falcons, St. Louis and Cleveland. He helped the Rams win a Super Bowl. “When I got done playing, I didn’t want anything to do with football,” he said. “I had opportunities to coach when I was younger, but I didn’t want to move my family around a lot. I sacrificed my goals at the time for my children.” He began coaching his son and namesake in tackle football when he was six and has always been on the sideline when he played the sport.
When his son was 12, playing with 14-year-old boys was part of the plan to keep him humble and hungry to improve. They teamed up to help Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Fla., win a state championship in 2015 with father serving as head coach and son as the team’s star.
“We’ve been on a team since he was born,” he said.
And when Bush Jr. was the last of his children to go to college, his father saw an opportunity to join him on Harbaugh’s staff in 2016 after his defensive co-ordinator D.J. Durkin left to lead Maryland. “I called (Harbaugh) and said, ‘If you have any opening, and I don’t care how big or small it is, I would love to coach at the next level,’” Bush Sr. said. “He said, ‘That’s a great idea. Let’s make it happen.’”