Bob Stoops gives early seal of approval for Brent Venables' latest Oklahoma hire

Oklahoma legendary coach Bob Stoops, who's still around the OU football program often, had to do a little research like everyone else when news broke Wednesday that the Sooners are expected to hire Deland McCullough as their new running backs coach, and also just like most other OU fans, Stoops was quickly impressed.

Stoops was a guest on The Rush on KREF Sports radio this week and gave his early seal of approval on Brent Venables' unexpected hire to replace DeMarco Murray, who played running back for Stoops before a coaching career that ultimately led him back to OU and now to the NFL to be the Kansas City Chiefs' running backs coach.

Deland McCullough's background impresses Bob Stoops

"I haven't met him, and I'm looking forward to it," Stoops said of McCullough. "But, anyway, man, he's got a really accomplished background of, you know, playing, coaching all the different places -- college coaching, NFL coaching. He looks awesome, just reading about him."

McCullough was most recently the running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, as Venables lost a coach to the NFL only to pull his replacement from the pro level. However, a quick coaching change with Pete Carroll getting fired after only one season in charge put McCullough back on the market after just one year in Vegas with All-Rookie running back and 2024 Doak Walker Award winner Ashton Jeanty.

Before his brief residency in Vegas, McCullough was Notre Dame's running backs coach for three years and also held the title of associate head coach in 2024, when the Fighting Irish made the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. He also coached running backs for Indiana (twice), the Kansas City Chiefs and USC. He was successful at every stop with 16 1,000-yard rushers on his resume.

But there's even more reason to like McCullough, at least for Stoops. McCullough was raised in Youngstown, Ohio, just like Stoops. Somehow, the two Youngstown natives both ended up in Norman to coach football, although at different times.

"I'm sure he's a great guy," Stoops said. "He's a Youngstown guy, kinda, you gotta be, right?"