Deland McCullough

Deland McCullough is a running backs coach in football, with a career spanning college football and the National Football League. As a player at Miami (Ohio), McCullough was a three-time All-MAC selection, setting program records with 4,368 career rushing yards and 949 career rushing attempts, and earning induction into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame. After college, he played professionally with the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, and the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL before knee injuries ended his playing career. Prior to coaching, McCullough worked in education as a teacher, head football coach, athletic director, and certified principal, shaping his approach to player development.

McCullough began his collegiate coaching career at Miami (Ohio), contributing to a Mid-American Conference Championship, then spent six seasons as running backs coach at Indiana University. During his tenure, the Hoosiers set 19 program rushing records, and McCullough was named BTN.com Running Backs Coach of the Year. He coached players such as Tevin Coleman, Jordan Howard, and Devine Redding, with Coleman and Howard becoming the first Indiana running backs drafted in consecutive years since the early 1990s. McCullough later served as run game coordinator and running backs coach at USC, where the Trojans won the Pac-12 championship and earned a Cotton Bowl berth. Ronald Jones earned All-America honors under his guidance before being selected in the second round of the NFL Draft.

McCullough joined the Kansas City Chiefs as running backs coach, where the team won Super Bowl LIV, appeared in consecutive Super Bowls, and advanced to three straight AFC Championship Games. He was recognized as the NFL's running backs coach of the year at the NFL Combine, and his unit allowed only four sacks over three seasons. He coached players including Kareem Hunt, LeSean McCoy, Le'Veon Bell, and guided rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire to over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. After returning to Indiana as associate head coach, McCullough joined Notre Dame as associate head coach and run game coordinator. Under his leadership, Audric Estimé rushed for 1,341 yards and a school-record 18 touchdowns in a season, earning second-team All-America honors, while Jeremiyah Love followed with a 1,125-yard, 17-touchdown campaign. McCullough then returned to the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders, where rookie Ashton Jeanty totaled 1,321 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns, setting a franchise rookie record. He later became running backs coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, contributing to 17 seasons of 1,000-or-more yards from scrimmage among his coached backs.

McCullough's personal story has been featured in the Kendrick Brothers documentary film "Show Me the Father" and in his book "Runs in the Family." Adopted as a newborn and raised in a single-parent household, he reunited with his biological mother and discovered that his longtime mentor, NFL coach Sherman Smith, was his biological father. McCullough's career and life experiences have made him a recognized figure in football coaching, player development, and sports leadership.