Unexpected DeMarco Murray replacement just fell right into the Sooners’ lap, and he’s a perfect fit to fix their offense
The Sooners have their DeMarco Murray replacement, and it’s a grand slam.
Last week, the Oklahoma Sooners had a somewhat unexpected storyline develop when running backs coach DeMarco Murray departed his alma mater to take the same job with the Kansas City Chiefs. Murray’s interest in the NFL was well-known, but the right opportunity hadn’t come up until now.
Immediately, Oklahoma and Brent Venables got to work on finding a replacement, and the perfect one fell right into their lap after a surprising NFL decision.
What Deland McCullough brings to the Sooners
As talented a player as DeMarco Murray was, it became evident that the results as a coach were starting to dry up after a strong start, and the Sooners’ ground game came apart in recent years. Oklahoma, an institute with one of the greatest traditions of elite running back play in college football, had not produced a 1,000-yard rusher since Eric Gray in 2022. Murray could recruit talent, but the development wasn’t up to snuff, and Oklahoma’s running back room quickly became a weak link routinely.
In that sense, going from Murray to McCullough is akin to going from a Camry to a Cadillac. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say McCullough is a top-three (at worst) running backs coach over the last decade. Since beginning as a running backs coach in 2011, McCullough’s laundry list of rushers is one of the best out there for any position coach.
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.
Not only is he an accomplished recruiter and developer, but McCullough is also an outstanding human being who fits the culture that Brent Venables has worked so hard to establish at Oklahoma. He’ll bring both accountability and experience to the Sooners to fix their woeful rushing attack moving forward. Oh, and did I mention he has a Super Bowl ring?
This is an unbelievably good hire for the Sooners to pull off this late in the cycle, and the offense will reap the rewards for it. Grand slam. I cannot complain about Brent Venables hiring anyone ever again because he keeps knocking it out of the park every time he swings.
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