Brent Venables’ start to the 2026 off-season got chaotic after his assistants were poached by the teams in the pros. DB coach Jay Valai left for the Bills. Joe Jon Finley had a similar exit, but the biggest blow came in the form of RBs coach DeMarco Murray’s departure for the Chiefs. Much to the respite of the Sooner faithful, Norman is getting a replacement in the form of a Super Bowl winner.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, former Las Vegas Raiders RBs coach Deland McCullough is likely to replace Murray on Brent Venables’ staff. Last year, McCullough was part of Pete Carroll’s staff and helped develop Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders, however, finished with a 3-14 record, and Pete Carroll was fired along with McCullough and other assistants.

“He has been a mentor beyond just football, but on life and dealing with being a grown man,” Jeanty said about McCullough. McCullough played football at Miami (OH) and thereafter had a brief 4 year stint with NFL teams. Quickly in 2000, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native became the head coach of Harmony Community School and started his coaching trajectory.

After a one-year stint at Miami (OH) as a coaching intern, McCullough’s first coaching role came at Indiana in 2011, where he coached RBs. After a six-year stint at Indiana, the 53-year old moved to USC in the same role for a year and finally came to the Kansas City Chiefs role in 2018, where he won the Super Bowl. McCullough stayed at the Chiefs for three years and won the NFL’s RBs coach of the year award in 2020.

DeLand McCullough helped the Chiefs win the 2020 Super Bowl, defeating the 49ers 31-20. Thereafter, in the 2019 season, he helped the team to another Super Bowl appearance, though the team lost against Tampa Bay. At Chiefs, McCullough not only developed Damien Williams but also elevated Patrick Mahomes’ running game. It finally led to other opportunities, and ever since then, the new OU RBs coach has been going strong.

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At Norman, DeLand will have several RBs to coach and continue his elite player development. Brent Venables has brought in RB Llyod Avant from Colorado State, and Jonathan Hatton Jr., along with DeZephen Walker, come in as freshman RBs. The team also returns with sophomore Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock. In all, DeLand has an illustrious rushing offense to coach, which ranked 3rd nationally in 2025.

Brent Venables discarded a program legend’s advice in hiring DeLand McCullough

While DeLand has now officially filled the RBs coach position, earlier, analysts touted many names to take over the position in Norman. One such name was Oklahoma’s former RBs coach Cale Gundy. The demand picked up so much traction that a former OU Heisman finalist urged Venables to hire Gundy after DeMarco Murray’s departure.

“Mannn, we need to hire Coach Gundy back as the RB coach!!! What do y’all say??? @Cale Gundy. Let’s make it happen! #Boomer,” wrote former OU WR Dede Westbrook. The 6-foot WR featured for OU in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, becoming a uninanimous All-American and a Heisman finalist. Interestingly, Westbrook’s rise coincided with Gundy’s long OU tenure.

That might have been one of the reasons why Westbrook urged OU to hire Gundy. But another was, of course, since Gundy had previously spent 22 seasons with OU and was a free agent. However, now that the program has gone with an NFL coach, not many will question Venables’ choice. Furthermore, DeLand might just have the past OU connection to become a ‘cultural fit’ for the team.

DeLand’s son, Dasan McCullough, played for the Sooners in the 2023 and 2024 seasons as a linebacker. Though Dasan eventually moved to Nebraska, the connection could have at least played a minor role in DeLand’s decision. Consulting with his son for the Norman move? Maybe! All things considered, it remains to be seen if OU continues its elite rushing game under McCullough or not.