Key Notre Dame Assistant Misses Out on Head Coaching Job

Notre Dame assistant coach Deland McCullough fell short in securing a head coaching job. Here's what it means for the program.

Apr 20, 2024; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gold team coach Deland McCullough celebrates after a touchdown in the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough is a star in his profession.

He can point to dozens of college and NFL running backs he has coached and helped guide to becoming stars and that has continued during his tenure at Notre Dame.

McCullough has been so good at his role that he has been able to earn interviews for head coaching gigs in college football, while only being an assistant at Notre Dame.

McCullough has not shied away from the fact that he would like to be a head coach one day, but it seems that time has not come quiet yet as Ohio went with an in-house candidate earlier this week, offensive coordinator Brian Smith.

Brian Smith Named Ohio Football Head Coach

🗞️ https://t.co/gUI0qrwqWC pic.twitter.com/phEY01Qfra

— Ohio Football (@OhioFootball) December 18, 2024

It had been reported earlier in the week that McCullough was a top candidate for the Bobcats, but they elected to go with Smith over the Notre Dame running backs coach.

McCullough has history in the MAC the conference Ohio plays in, as a star running back at Miami University. Miami was also where McCullough got his start coaching, which led to stops at Indiana University, USC, the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, Indiana again, then to South Bend with Notre Dame.

It has been no secret that McCullough sees himself as a college head coach, or at least offensive coordinator in the very near future. Selfishly, when Ball State fired Mike Neu earlier this year, I was hoping my alma mater would take a stab at McCullough.

Alas, the Cardinals went in a different direction, but a man can dream.

While many want to see McCullough stay long term, for good reason, it is important to step back and see that it is a great thing that Notre Dame assistants are interviewing for big-time jobs.

It will only lend itself to more and more top-notch assistants being willing to come to Notre Dame and work under head coach Marcus Freeman, because they know they can reach their goals with him.

Watch out for McCullough to continue to look around at other roles this offseason. It should not be surprising if this College Football Playoff run with Notre Dame is his last involvement with the Fighting Irish.