Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach's return to the NFL has him going from best friend to worst enemy

For three seasons, Notre Dame fans were able to appreciate just how tremendous of a running back coach Deland McCullough is. He was quickly able to build one of the best running back rooms in all of college football, and recruit at the highest level. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise when you look […]

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Former Kansas City Chiefs RB coach Deland McCullough
The Daily Hoosier

For three seasons, Notre Dame fans were able to appreciate just how tremendous of a running back coach Deland McCullough is. He was quickly able to build one of the best running back rooms in all of college football, and recruit at the highest level. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise when you look at Coach McCullough’s resume, including most notably winning Super Bowl LIV with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coach McCullough is still beloved in Kansas City, or at least he was. That may have changed slightly on Wednesday night when it was announced that McCullough will be joining the Las Vegas Raiders as their running backs coach. He joins head coach Pete Carroll’s staff with the Raiders, and will be working under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

Now a division rival to the Chiefs, the work will be cut out for McCullough moving forward. He will be tasked with rebuilding a running back room that features Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, Sincere McCormick, and Ameer Abdullah. There are some names there, but not a lot to be excited about, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry as a team in 2024.

If McCullough’s background has told us anything, he can coach and find talent at a high level. Over the years, he has tutored names like Jeremiyah Love, Ronald Jones, Jordan Howard, and Jadarian Price on the college level. He was also instrumental to helping running back Damien Williams steal the show during that Super Bowl victory, accounting for 133 total yards and two touchdowns in the victory.

McCullough leaves a big hole with the Notre Dame program. There are several interesting candidates out there, but they will have big shoes to fill. He will be greatly missed by Irish fans, and passionately hated two times next year by Chiefs supporters everywhere. 

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