Sooners fans are already sold on Brent Venables' unexpected hire

It took less than 24 hours for Sooner Nation to be all in on Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables' hire of Deland McCullough as the Sooners' new running backs coach to replace DeMarco Murray.

OU has not made an official announcement as of writing, but news broke early Wednesday morning that the Sooners were expected to hire McCullough as an unexpected candidate after not being listed on any of the lists of possible options that were created after Murray opened the position by heading to the NFL as the Kansas City Chiefs' new RB coach. OU fans immediately researched McCullough to not only find his impressive track record, but also learn he had multiple connections that led him to Oklahoma.

Deland McCullough already has OU fans excited, including Kevin Wilson

McCullough was most recently the RB coach for the Las Vegas Raiders as Venables poached an assistant from the NFL after losing another to the league. McCullough was in Vegas for just one season before a coaching change, and developed rookie Ashton Jeanty into an All-Rookie back during his short time there.

Before getting to 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, and he produced successful running backs at every single stop with 16 surpassing 1,000 rushing yards in a season.

While at Indiana the first time in 2011-16, McCullough coached under current OU offensive analyst Kevin Wilson, who gave McCullough his first full-time coaching position at the Division-I level after becoming the Hoosiers' head coach. Wilson was also McCullough's offensive coordinator during his playing days as a running back for Miami (OH) before a brief pro career.

McCullough also had a prior relationship with most of the rest of Venables' staff because two of his sons, Dasan and Daeh, recently played for the Sooners before transferring elsewhere to finish their careers.

Despite not being a popular name during the search process, OU fans quickly realized why McCullough got the job and celebrated the hire, especially Wilson.

Derrick Blaylock, a former NFL running back and the dad of OU standout running back Tory Blaylock, is also a big fan of the hire, which is crucial in keeping his son in Oklahoma for his entire career after breaking out last season as a freshman. He even tagged his son in the post.

The rest of Sooner Nation was just as pumped about the hire as Venables had to replace three position coaches this offseason.