Why new Oklahoma Sooners running back coach Deland McCullough is exactly what the doctor ordered to fix struggling run game
Deland McCullough is the perfect coach on and off the field for the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Oklahoma Sooners have their next running backs coach. After DeMarco Murray departed for the same role with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Sooners turned around and reached into the NFL ranks for his replacement, hiring Deland McCullough as their next running backs coach. McCullough was with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
McCullough will take over a room returning its top two starters from last year and added three unique talents in the offseason to give the Sooners a unique stable of backs heading into the 2026 season.
I believe in objectivity and I try not to ever lean too far into favoritism or get excited, but in regards to the McCullough hire: He’s the perfect coach for the Sooners, who need to fix their rushing attack ASAP.
On-field results should have Oklahoma fans excited
It’s tough to put into words how strong of a hire this is for the Sooners. McCullough is arguably the best running backs coach in the country over the last decade, and he has a remarkable history of on-field results.
Across the college and NFL landscape at places like the Kansas City Chiefs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Indiana Hoosiers, Las Vegas Raiders, and USC Trojans, McCullough has coached (and recruited) running backs such as Jeremiyah Love, Ashton Jeanty, Jadarian Price, Tevin Coleman, Jordan Howard, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Audric Estime, Kareem Hunt, Ronald Jones II, Damien Williams, Stephen Carr, and LeSean McCoy.
Despite only becoming a running backs coach in 2011, McCullough has developed running backs who have tallied over 1,000 yards of offense 16(!) times across his multiple stops, and has recruited some of college football’s best running backs. The fewest rushing yards his lead rusher has had in college over the last 10 years was 920. As a team, Oklahoma only rushed for 1,540 yards in 2025.
Even in the NFL, McCullough has elevated rushing attacks. During his time with the Chiefs from 2018 to 2020, the Chiefs were ninth in success rate and seventh in EPA/Rush. This year with the Raiders, despite an abysmal offensive line, Ashton Jeanty ran for nearly 1,000 yards.
Oklahoma needs the on-field boost he’ll bring to the room to take some of the pressure off of John Mateer and Bowe Bentley moving forward.
McCullough is perfect off-field fit with Oklahoma’s culture
As good as McCullough’s results are on the field, it’s perhaps his work off the field that stands out the most. I reached out to A to Z Sports Notre Dame Fighting Irish writer and draft expert Ryan Roberts for what McCullough was like as a recruiter, and his answer should inspire Sooners fans.
“Deland McCullough was not only a tremendous coach and developer at Notre Dame, but he was also a dynamite recruiter. He managed, in a very short amount of time, to build one of the best running back rooms in all of college football. That includes attracting four-star runners Aneyas Williams, Kedren Young, and Nolan James Jr., a trio that will get the bulk of opportunities going into the 2026 season. McCullough also laid the groundwork for the Fighting Irish to land Javian Osborne and Jonaz Walton in the 2026 recruiting class.
The biggest win for McCullough as a recruiter, however, is by far Jeremiyah Love back in the 2023 class. Without McCullough in that recruitment, I am not sure that Notre Dame would have landed the St. Louis native. Love grew a deep admiration for McCullough’s honest style as a recruiter and track record of success. During that recruitment, the Love camp actually had a close relationship with another running back target who was on the Notre Dame board. While McCullough was constantly telling Love that he was the top target on their board, they wanted confirmation of that pitch. The other running back target asked about his standing with Notre Dame. Instead of lying behind the scenes, McCullough deferred to honesty. He told the other running back that he wasn’t their top target right now. Once that got back to the Love side, the recruitment was pretty much over. Not only was McCullough a great coach, but he was also a tremendous role model that the family could trust.”
Not only is he a gifted recruiter, McCullough is a perfect example of the culture Brent Venables has worked so hard to cultivate with the Sooners. Everyone across the country raves about the type of human being McCullough is and just how he is as a developer of men. That’s exactly what Brent Venables is all about with the Sooners.
Ashton Jeanty described McCullough as “a mentor beyond just football”. McCullough carries the identity he learned from his father (there’s an outstanding story on ESPN on his background I will link here) of “You may not be looking for a father, but I’m going to treat you like a son.”
This is the perfect hire for Oklahoma, and it shows just how healthy the state of the program is. Brent Venables has made his mark on the college football world, and the Sooners feel as alive as they ever have been now.
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