As of Wednesday night, Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman is in the market for a new running backs coach.
It shouldn’t be too tough to sell.
Deland McCullough, headed to join the new Pete Carroll regime with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, leaves behind a loaded running backs room, six deep and headed by junior-to-be Jeremiyah Love.
A source confirmed the move on Wednesday night. Irish Sports Daily’s Matt Freeman was first with the news.
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McCullough spent three years as ND’s running backs coach, and the Irish improved their national standing in the rushing statistics each of those years — from 83rd nationally in 2021 under Brian Kelly and running backs coach Lance Taylor — to 35th in 2022 in Freeman’s first season to 27th in 2023 and 19th this past season.
The Irish finished seventh nationally in yards per rush in 2024 at 5.66. That’s the third-best mark in school history since Notre Dame began archiving that stat in 1939. And it was amassed against a schedule that included three of the top 10 rush defenses in the country, five of the top 17, and 11 of the top 50.
Love led the Irish (14-2) with 1,125 yards and 17 TDs on 163 carries. His 6.9 yards per carry ranked sixth in the FBS in 2024.
The 52-year-old McCullough last coached in the NFL in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He won a Super Bowl during his three-year run as the team’s running backs coach.
The Raiders hired the 73-year-old Carroll to be their head coach on Jan. 25.
McCullough is the second member of Freeman’s 2024 coaching staff to take an NFL job after the team’s run to the CFP National Championship Game, Jan. 20 in Atlanta. Defensive coordinator Al Golden left late last month to join the Cincinnati Bengals in the same capacity.
Chris Ash has since been hired to replace Golden, with that hire becoming official on Saturday. The Irish also have an opening for general manager after Chad Bowden left recently for the same job with USC.
Notre Dame opens its 2025 season Aug. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., against the Miami Hurricanes.
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