Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1449639
22 MARCH 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ASHTON POLLARD W h e n N o t r e D a m e l o s t running backs coach Lance Taylor to be Louisville's new offensive coordina‑ tor, it needed to find an‑ other bright mind with a wealth of experience to fill his shoes. They found just that in former Indi‑ ana associate head coach and running backs coach D e l a n d M c C u l l o u g h , who will take over the running back room un‑ der new Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. McCullough has an impressive résumé and h a s m a d e a n i m p a c t across the country at several levels of foot‑ ball. The 2021 season was McCullough's sec‑ ond stint at Indiana; he was the running backs coach for the Hoosiers from 2011‑16. In between the two coaching jobs i n B l o o m i n g to n , Mc ‑ Cullough was the run‑ ning backs coach at USC and for the Kansas City Chiefs. He won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs in the 2019 season. In both 2018 and 2020, McCullough helped oversee a Chiefs' offense that led the NFL in total yardage. While at USC in 2017, he coached running back Ron‑ ald Jones II to a rushing performance of 1,550 yards, which was second in the Pac‑12 and eighth nationally. McCullough produced a collection of standout running backs during his first tenure at Indiana as well. Tevin Coleman rushed for 2,036 yards in 2014, which was second in the na‑ tion. In 2015, both Jordan Howard and Devine Redding rushed for at least 1,000 yards. Redding posted 1,122 yards the following year as well, McCullough's last year at Indiana before the move to USC. McCullough, 49, is originally from Pittsburgh. He was put up for adoption as an infant, grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and has one of the most remarkable family stories one will ever encounter. He played college football at Miami University and was recruited by for‑ mer RedHawk Sherman Smith. The two developed and maintained a close rela‑ tionship even though Smith departed to serve as the running backs coach at Illi‑ nois prior to McCullough's enrollment. Years later, McCullough began search‑ ing for his biological family. In 2017, he found his birth mother and learned that Smith, who he considered a mentor, was his biological father. In college, the for‑ mer running back to‑ taled 4,854 yards and 37 touchdowns from scrim‑ mage over his four‑year collegiate career and was the 1992 Mid‑American Conference Freshman of the Year. He rushed for a total of 4,368 yards, which was a school re‑ cord at the time. After five years of coaching high school football, Mc‑ Cullough began his ca‑ reer at the college coach‑ ing level as an intern for the RedHawks. McCullough has four sons, Deland Jr., Dasan, Da e h a n d D i e m . T h e oldest three boys play football, while Diem was born in 2016. Deland Jr. is a rising senior defensive back at Indiana. He transferred to t h e Ho os i e rs p ro ‑ gram this year after two years at his fa‑ ther's alma mater, and he appeared in 10 games in 2021, primarily on special teams. He went to high school in Kansas and was the No. 13 prospect from the state in the 2019 class according to the On3 Consensus rankings. Dasan, the middle son, enrolled at Indiana on Jan. 10. He is a 6‑foot‑5, 228‑pound edge rusher who was the No. 2 prospect in the state of Indi‑ ana, No. 9 edge and No. 89 player nationally in the class of 2022. He had an offer from Notre Dame in high school and originally was com‑ mitted to Ohio State. The third McCullough brother is a four‑star cornerback in the 2023 class and the No. 3 prospect out of the state of Indiana per On3 Con‑ sensus. He committed to Indiana on April 13 and held several other Power Five offers from across the country including Michigan, Penn State, Florida and Utah. ✦ Championship Level Deland McCullough brings Super Bowl- winning experience to the Irish coaching staff McCullough's Power Five coaching experience includes USC and Indiana. He also spent three years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and helped them win a Super Bowl. PHOTO COURTESY INDIANA ATHLETICS DELAND MCCULLOUGH BIOGRAPHY PERSONAL INFORMATION Born: Dec. 1, 1972 Hometown: Pittsburgh Education: Miami (Ohio) University (1996, bachelor's) Playing career: Miami (Ohio), 1992-95 (running back) COACHING CAREER 2000-04: Harmony (Ohio) Community School, head coach 2010: Miami (Ohio), coaching intern 2011-16: Indiana, running backs coach 2017: USC, running backs coach 2018-20: Kansas City Chiefs, running backs coach 2021: Indiana, associate head coach and running backs coach 2022: Notre Dame, running backs coach