Kevin Wilson praises OU running backs coach Deland McCullough

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When the Oklahoma Sooners lost former running backs coach Demarco Murray to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs this offseason, they needed to nail the hire to replace him. The man they hired, former Las Vegas Raiders RB coach Deland McCullough, has drawn praise from one OU coach who knows him very well.

Kevin Wilson, who is Oklahoma's Assistant Head Coach for Offense, was McCullough's boss when the two were at Indiana from 2011 to 2016. Since then, McCullough has worked on staff with some impressive offensive minds. After spending 2017 at USC, McCullough coached under Andy Reid for the Chiefs from 2018 to 2020, helping Kansas City win the Super Bowl in 2019.

After returning to Indiana for one year in 2021, McCullough spent 2022 through 2024 at Notre Dame, helping the school make the national title game in 2024. After a season coaching under Chip Kelly with the Raiders, McCullough is back in the college game, this time at OU.

Wilson, who has followed his own winding path back to Norman, was very complimentary of McCullough's impact on Tuesday.

"Deland is consumed with running back," Wilson said. "He just wants his position to be the best position, his guys to be the best, he's gonna have ownership of it. He'll have some offensive ideas and bring some offensive things to the table, but's he's trying to be a PhD in running back coaching, and he's doing an outstanding job. He's a great teammate."

While coaching for the Fighting Irish, McCullough tutored both Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. That duo made Notre Dame's offense go, and both were first-round draft picks last April. Love was a Heisman Trophy finalist, and he went third overall in the draft.

That's the kind of running back production that would open up so much for the Sooners, and Wilson is obviously very high on the level of influence McCullough can have in Norman. Wilson also knows what he's talking about, as he's coordinated some of the sport's most lethal offenses, including calling the shots for the 2008 Sooners that were once of the best offenses in college football history at the time.

Oklahoma has put a major emphasis on running the football better in 2026, and Wilson is very happy with what he's seen from his old and now new teammate on the coaching staff.

"I think he's very comfortable with what he's doing," Wilson said. "He's a heck of a dude. He's a great coach."

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Kevin Wilson praises OU running backs coach Deland McCullough

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