Deland McCullough enters his first season as running backs coach with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
Since becoming a running backs coach in 2011, McCullough has helped develop running backs who have accumulated over 1,000 yards of offense 16 times.
He joins the Silver and Black after spending the past three seasons with Notre Dame, first as running backs coach in 2022, then as run game coordinator in 2023 and associate head coach in 2024. He was named a finalist for top running backs coach in the nation all three years.
In 2024, McCullough led a rushing attack that ranked third in the NCAA in rushing touchdowns (45), fifth in rushing average (5.7), and seventh in total rushing yards (3,215). He developed and coached top 2026 NFL Draft Prospects Jeremiyah Love to 1,187yds and 17 touchdowns and Jadarian Price to 787 yards and seven touchdowns.
In 2023, he developed and coached 2024 fifth-round draft pick RB Audric Estimé to 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns - one of the best rushing seasons in program history.
In 2022, both Estimé and Logan Diggs surpassed 1,000 total yards of offense—becoming the first Notre Dame running back duo to accomplish that since 2015.
Prior to Notre Dame, McCullough served as the associate head coach/running backs coach at Indiana in 2021, where he coached RB Stephen Carr to a career year, scoring six touchdowns and rushing for 600 yards over nine games.
Before returning to Indiana, McCullough spent three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2018–2020). He played a key role in their back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and 2020 championship win. During his tenure, Chiefs running backs ranked among the league's best in yards after contact and fewest sacks allowed. McCullough coached Pro Bowler Anthony Sherman and helped rookie first-round draft pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire eclipse 1,000 scrimmage yards. He also coached standout RBs Kareem Hunt, Damien Williams, LeSean McCoy, and Le'Veon Bell. Recognized as NFL's Top Running Backs Coach at the 2020 Combine.
At USC in 2017, McCullough helped guide the Trojans to a Pac-12 title and Cotton Bowl appearance. His backfield duo of Ronald Jones and Stephen Carr earned All-Pac-12 honors, with Jones being named an All American and later selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
From 2011 to 2016, McCullough led Indiana's running backs and served as special teams coordinator in 2016. He developed and coached future NFL standouts Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard as well as NFL running backs Devine Redding and Stephen Houston. Coleman surpassed 2000 rushing yards in 2014 and led an running back group that rushed for 3,163 yards. That season Coleman was also a consensus All American and was fifth in Heisman Voting. In 2015, Howard and Redding each surpassed 1,000 rushing yards. Mccullough was a two-time finalist as the top running backs coach in the nation and was the Big Ten Running Backs coach of the year in 2014.
McCullough began his coaching career at Miami (Ohio) in 2010, helping the team capture the MAC Championship and win the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
PERSONAL: A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Deland McCullough played running back at Miami (Ohio), where he was a three-time All-MAC selection and two time All-American...He was the first Miami player named MAC Freshman of the Year (1992) and a finalist for the Doak Walker Award...He graduated as Miami's career leader in rushing yards (4,368) and rushing attempts (949)...McCullough led the team in rushing four straight seasons and was inducted into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004...He played professionally from 1996–2001 with the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and XFL's Chicago Enforcers...As a Bengals rookie, he led the NFL preseason in rushing before a knee injury in the last preseason game...In Winnipeg, he amassed almost 1,700 all-purpose yards in 1999 before another knee injury. Before his coaching career, McCullough served as a teacher, Head Football coach then high school principal...He won a sports Emmy Award for an ESPN special on his life...He also is the co-author of his acclaimed memoir, Runs in the Family, released in 2025...McCullough and his wife, Darnell, have four sons: Deland II, Dasan, Daeh, and Diem.
