Now that Deland McCullough has officially departed the Notre Dame football program, it’s time for the Irish to find his replacement.
Because they’re one of the best teams in the country, it stands to reason they’re going to have a big group to pull from. However, some names are more realistic than others.
Here’s who Notre Dame football fans should keep an eye on as far as replacing Deland McCullough and taking over a running back room that includes one of the early favorites to win the Heisman in Jeremiyah Love.
4 names that Notre Dame football should look at to replace Deland McCullough
Stan Drayton
Drayton most recently had an unsuccessful run as head coach of Temple, but his resume is is pretty impressive when taking a look at him as running backs coach. He’s coached that position group for some biggies in Syracuse, Florida (two separate times), Tennessee, Texas, Ohio State and the Chicago Bears.
Among his pupils is Ekeziel Elliott, who he both recruited and developed in Columbus. As far as relationships go, he’s worked with new defensive coordinator Chris Ash at two different stops. He’s also got work in the Ivy league at Penn and Ivy League adjacent at Villanova. That might be a key factor considering the unique academic requirements of Notre Dame.
Tony Alford
While it might strike some as unlikely that the Michigan running backs coach would make a lateral move to a rival school, it’s not like Alford is a Michigan man through and through. In fact, if he came to South Bend, it would be for a return engagement as he was a member of Brian Kelly’s staff and was with ND from 2009 to 2014.
Marcus Freeman was able to lure Mike Denbrock back, it doesn’t seem out of the question he could do the same for Alford.
Frank Wilson
Wilson is more of a longshot than most of the position coaches on this list in part because the LSU coach is a native Lousianian. He’s also thought to be the highest paid coach at his position. However, he’s got a relationship with Mike Denbrock and Notre Dame has shown a willingness to open up the bank vault for its football staff these days.
Doug Phillips
It might not make a ton of sense at first to believe that the Youngstown State head coach would take a step down just to come to the FBS, but it’s not as though he’s tearing things up as the man leading the Penguins. He’s only 23-30 in four years with YSU and his team took a big step back in 2024, going 4-8. If he’s feeling any heat on his seat, he might decide to take a job with a school like Notre Dame football instead.
Phillips coached with Freeman at Cincinatti where he led the running backs from 2018 to 2019. Freeman has made it clear that previous relationships are important to him. This could be the first guy that gets an offer.
Whoever ends up getting the job, it seems likely that Notre Dame football is going to try and move quickly.