Deland McCullough leaving Indiana to become running backs coach at USC

Well it’s been a quiet 12 hours for IU sports, huh?

Yesterday, we wrote that Deland McCullough had interviewed for the USC running backs coach job.

This morning, it became official.

McCullough led a renaissance at the running back position at IU over the past few years, as he’s coached players who have gone on to the NFL such as Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard. Coleman even scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl this month. The run game has become a staple under the IU offense, and McCullough was credited with leading Indiana to being informally called Running Back U.

McCullough is now the third position coach the Hoosiers have lost on offense in the past month. First, Greg Frey departed for Michigan right after Signing Day, then Shawn Watson left for Pitt to become their OC, and now McCullough heads to a USC program that started 1-3 last year but ended up winning their last 9 games, including a thrilling Rose Bowl over Penn State. It’s a lot of turnover for new IU OC Mike DeBord in just his second month on the job in Bloomington.