Making a move is a major decision. Weighing various pros and cons takes time, so, understandably, Kansas City Chiefs fans didn't hear anything official about the status of Deland McCullough for a bit. One week later, however, it's rather unusual to still sit in the dark about the Chiefs' coaching staff.
As the Chiefs remake their coaching staff this offseason following a 6-11 season that forced them out of the postseason picture for the first time in more than a decade, Andy Reid has been tinkering most on the offensive side. Eric Bieniemy is in as the Chiefs' new offensive coordinator, replacing Matt Nagy, who is now with the New York Giants. Chad O'Shea was hired as the wide receivers coach after Connor Embree was fired.
One of the bigger holes to fill is that of the running backs coach. Todd Pinkston, who held the post for the last three years, was let go along with Embree. In his place, the Chiefs reportedly set their sights on McCullough, who coached the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders in '25. After requesting an interview one week ago, there has not been a single mention of McCullough either way. The truth is that no one even knows if McCullough has even been interviewed. It's as if the report never came out in the first place.
All of this is a bit odd because things tend to move fast in NFL coaching circles. Twenty-one teams are expected to employ a different offensive coordinator than last season, which means the vultures are circling for potential new staff members beneath them. That's likely to lead to 21 new running backs coaches (or something close), which is why the lack of news is a bit unsettling.
Somehow, the Chiefs are on hold while other pieces are falling into place. Somehow, McCullough hasn't been given the axe with the Raiders, even though they've hired a new head coach in Klint Kubiak. Somehow, nothing has leaked on either side, with the Chiefs showing a willingness to wait for their man rather than move on to Plan B.
It's weird that a full week has gone by after the initial report of the Chiefs' interest in a Deland McCullough reunion.
The Chiefs know what they'd be getting with McCullough, having employed him for three years, from 2018-20, so that might explain the patient approach. It's possible he's curried enough favor to sort out his options as other opportunities come calling. It's also possible that the Raiders have asked McCullough to wait and see if he wants to stick with Kubiak.
Remember, the Raiders are still waiting to officially hire Kubiak, since he's got one more (big) game to coach with the Seattle Seahawks. However, other Raiders coaches have already jumped ship, including defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who is headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
All of this is conjecture, of course. There's no way of knowing what's happening within the official channels, but the lack of any news at all is itself worthy of discussion. A positional coach is not a big-time hire, and teams are likely to have a list of several candidates to scroll through as they fill out their staff. Waiting on McCullough feels tough as other potential options are being pinned down.
That said, it's hard to be any more frustrated with the state of the Chiefs backfield going into 2026. Things can only look better at running back, whether that's with McCullough at the helm or someone else who has yet to emerge.