The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to rebuild the franchise by bringing back their former coaching staff. Recently, the franchise hired a familiar face, Eric Bieniemy, as their offensive coordinator. Following the trend, the latest reports suggest that the Chiefs are trying to walk in the same direction towards hiring a running backs coach well-known in Kansas City.

“Chiefs requested to interview Raiders RB coach Deland McCullough for their running back position,” reported ESPN’s Adam Schefter on X. “McCullough was with the Chiefs from 2018-20.”

Bieniemy was the Chiefs’ running backs coach from 2013 to 2017. In 2018, he was promoted to offensive coordinator, and the Chiefs hired Deland McCullough from USC. McCullough was one of the key figures who helped the USC Trojans win the Pac-12 Championship and the Pac-12 South Division Championship in 2017.

Coming to Kansas City, he continued his success as the running backs coach. In his first season, he took the franchise from 17th to 8th in rushing touchdowns (16 TDs). When it came to yards, the franchise was not that impressive. However, with talented running backs, such as Kareem Hunt, Damien Williams, and Jerick McKinnon, the rushers racked up the yards when necessary. Under McCullough’s coaching, the RBs became one of the trusted members of the squad.

Thanks to his contribution, the Vance Lombardi Trophy returned to Kansas City after 50 years. Besides winning Super Bowl LIV, the franchise also won two consecutive Conference titles. Following the 2020 season, McCullough returned to college football. He went to Indiana and then to Notre Dame.

The Las Vegas Raiders hired him in 2025. Now, it is looking like he will return to the Red and White. While Andy Reid is trying to bring back his former colleagues, the Chiefs’ latest hire addressed certain changes in the locker room.

Eric Bieniemy aims to make major changes in the locker room

Eric Bieniemy was one of the pillars in starting the dynasty in Kansas City. He had a way of dealing with the players. Now that he has returned, he wants things to change for the franchise to return to its glory days.

“We’ll be disciplined and detailed in everything in how we handle our business,” said Eric Bieniemy during a virtual press conference, via Matt McCullen on X. “There’s a standard of performance and excellence that will be expected.”

As a member of the Chiefs’ coaching staff, the offensive coordinator has never been a part of play-calling. Reid has always been the one to take charge. However, this is about to change in the upcoming season. With a more refined and experienced Bieniemy entering the franchise, Reid has revealed that he is ready to delegate the play-calling duties to the OC as well.

It shows that his role will be more than just being the OC. It will be bigger and more impactful, consisting of game planning and in-game offensive decisions. Even Reid acknowledges that Bieniemy brings something extra to the team.

“EB is gonna be very direct with the players, very direct with the coaches,” said Andy Reid to the media during a Zoom meeting, via the Kansas City Chiefs on YouTube. “It’s a different flavor.”

The Chiefs experienced their first losing season in a decade. To halt it as a one-time thing, the franchise is trying everything. Bringing back the original coaching squad that broke the 50-year Super Bowl drought is the first thing they are aiming for. It will be interesting to see how things shape up in the future. Will it be just coaches, or players will also come?