Oklahoma hiring Deland McCullough as new running backs coach

The Oklahoma Sooners are expected to hire Deland McCullough as their new running backs coach, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Sooner Scoop has also confirmed the news. He’ll replace the outgoing DeMarco Murray.

McCullough spent the 2025 season with the Las Vegas Raiders as their running backs coach. Under McCullough’s guidance, rookie and Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty had 975 yards, five touchdowns, 55 catches, 346 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions in 2025. He’s bounced between the NFL and college football since 2000, when he began his coaching career.

A former running back at Miami (OH), McCullough went undrafted in 1996. He had brief stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

After serving as the head coach of the Harmony Community School in Cincinnati (2000-04), McCullough became a coaching intern at Miami (OH) in 2010. Then, he coached running backs at Indiana from 2011-16.

McCullough was then hired by Clay Helton in the same role at USC in 2017. Following one season, Andy Reid brought McCullough to the Kansas City Chiefs. In his third season, McCullough won Super Bowl LIV while on staff in KC.

He returned to college football over the last three seasons at Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman. McCullough got to coach Jeremiyah Love, who’s expected to be the top running back selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Funny enough, Murray will go to the Chiefs, a previous stop of McCullough. Murray, who was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2014, had been a fixture of Oklahoma‘s coaching staff since 2020. With the former All-Pro on staff, the Sooners made their return to the College Football Playoff this season for the first time since 2019.

Prior to jumping to the NFL, Murray cemented his mark as one of the greatest Oklahoma running backs in program history. He was named a three-time All-Big 12 selection and was selected with the No. 71 overall pick in the Third Round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

With Dallas, Murray separated himself as one of the brightest young backs in the NFL. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2011 and exploded in 2014, earning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the NFL in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Across seven NFL seasons with three different teams (Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tennessee Titans), Murray recorded 7,174 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns. Following his retirement, Murray began his coaching career as a running backs coach at Arizona. After one season, he joined Oklahoma‘s staff in the same role, which he assumed for five seasons.