4 options to fill Chiefs’ running backs coach vacancy
The Kansas City Chiefs are in need of a new running backs coach for the 2021 NFL season and beyond. Chiefs running backs coach of the past three seasons, Deland McCullough, has been hired as the new running backs coach and associate head coach with the Indiana Hoosiers.
Fan reactions to McCullough’s departure were for the team to hire former Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles, but with little coaching experience that seems like an unlikely scenario. Another common reaction was to point to former Philadelphia Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley, who was coached by Andy Reid during his playing days. He was also a special teams assistant while Reid was there. Unfortunately, Staley just took a job as assistant head coach and running backs coach with the Detroit Lions.
So where will Kansas City look to find their next running backs coach? Here are four replacement options from outside of the organization that make a lot of sense for the team:
Natrone Means
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Chiefs fans will remember Means from his playing days with the San Diego Chargers in the mid-to-late '90s. He actually was in the same backfield with the current Chiefs offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, for a total of two seasons from 1993-94. Means began his coaching career at Livingstone College in 2005 as running backs coach. He currently is serving as the Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach at Fayetteville State University. Means has twice served as an intern on the Chiefs' coaching staff through the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, including as running backs coach ahead of the 2018 NFL season. He also coached tight ends via the fellowship in 2019.
Andre Crenshaw
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A former standout with the Oregon Ducks, Crenshaw currently serves as the running backs coach up Southeast Missouri State University. He spent the two years prior serving as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, where the Chiefs have typically training camp in non-COVID years. Like Means, Crenshaw has also served as an intern on the Chiefs' coaching staff through the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He coached running backs in 2019.
Brock Olivo
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Olivo was a former NFL running back, spending a total of five seasons in the league. He coached running backs for the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks back in 2011, before moving on to coach the running backs at Coastal Carolina from 2012-13. His history with the Kansas City Chiefs came in 2014-16 as an assistant special teams coordinator under Dave Toub. Olivo was hired as full-time special teams coordinator with the Denver Broncos in 2017. He would briefly reunite with Matt Nagy in Chicago as a special teams assistant in 2018, before moving home to Rome, Italy to become head coach of the Lazio Ducks.
Leonard Weaver
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If the Chiefs go the route of hiring someone with familiarity with Andy Reid and his system, Weaver would make a lot of sense. During his playing days, he spent two years as a fullback with the Philadelphia Eagles. Reid helped coach him to his only All-Pro season. While Weaver is relatively new to the coaching world and hasn't coached at the collegiate or NFL level, he still has some good coaching experience to build on. In March of 2020, Weaver became the head coach at Coral Springs High School in Coral Springs, Florida. He's also twice spent time as an assistant coach at Boca Raton High School as well.
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