Who Could Oklahoma Call to Replace DeMarco Murray as Running Backs Coach?

Brent Venables is on the hunt to fill another spot on his coaching staff, with DeMarco Murray set to head to the NFL.

Former UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

For the third time this offseason, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables will have to look into his Rolodex to add a new staff member. 

DeMarco Murray is set to head to the NFL to join Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff, leaving a hole at running backs coach in Norman. 

Venables showed he’s comfortable thinking outside the box when he hired Jason Witten as OU’s tight ends coach, and the addition of Michigan defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan to replace Jay Valai, who also will coach in the NFL next year, showed that Venables will look far and wide for his new running backs coach. 

Here are potential candidates for the job:

DeShaun Foster

DeShaun Foster last served as UCLA's head coach. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

DeShaun Foster’s tenure as UCLA head coach will be remembered for the wrong reasons, but his track record as a running back coach is outstanding. 

Foster played for the Bruins from 1998-2001, and he set the program record for rushing yards for a true freshman with 673, and he also scored 10 touchdowns on 126 carries. 

He battled an ankle injury as a sophomore, but returned to rush for 1,037 yards and 13 scores as a junior. Foster totaled 1,109 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior, and he was selected with the No. 34-overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. 

Foster played five years for the Panthers and spent the 2008 season with the San Francisco 49ers. Throughout his career, he rushed for 3,570 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he also caught 142 passes for 1,129 yards and five scores. 

He started his coaching career as a student assistant and graduate assistant at UCLA from 2013-2015, then he was hired by Kliff Kingsbury as running backs coach at Texas Tech for the 2016 season. 

Foster then returned to Los Angeles, and he served as the Bruins’ running back coach until he was elevated to head coach in 2024. 

He was nominated for the Broyles Award in 2022, and is credited with the development of Zach Charbonnet, Joshua Kelley, Demetric Felton Jr. and Brittain Brown, who were all drafted after working under Foster at UCLA.

C.J. Spiller, Clemson 

Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller during fall practice in 2022. | Ken Ruinard / Staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Venables crossed over on staff with current Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller, but it would be an odd move for Spiller to leave the program where his number is retired. 

Spiller was drafted with the No. 9-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, and he played in the NFL from 2010-2017. 

Spiller returned to Clemson as a graduate intern in 2020, then was elevated to running backs coach in 2021. 

Last year, the Tigers added the title of Offensive Run Game Coordinator to Spiller’s duties. 

Adam Randall rushed for 814 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Tigers in 2025, and in 2024 Spiller coached Phil Mafah to a 1,115-yard, eight-touchdown season. 

In 2023, both Mafah and Will Shipley rushed for over 800 yards, which was the first time two backs had exceeded 800 rushing yards since 2006.

Tashard Choice, Detroit Lions 

Detroit Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice watches practice during OTA at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Friday, May 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tashard Choice also seems unlikely, seeing as he has an NFL job with the Lions, but he did start his collegiate career at Oklahoma. 

Choice was in Norman from 2003-2004 — at the same time as Venables — before he transferred to play at Georgia Tech. 

After a successful career for the Yellow Jackets, Choice was drafted in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. 

He played in the NFL from 2008-2013 for Dallas, Washington, Buffalo and Indianapolis before entering the coaching ranks. 

Choice started as a coaching intern with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 before serving for two years at North Texas. 

In 2019, he returned to Atlanta to coach for the Yellow Jackets for three seasons. 

Choice left his alma mater to head to Austin in 2022, and he was on the Texas staff from 2022-2024 before joining the Lions ahead of the 2025 season. 

Enrique Davis, Georgia State

Georgia State running backs coach Enrique Davis crossed paths with current OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle at Western Kentucky. 

He served as running back coach under Arbuckle in 2022, and he has since gained some SEC experience. 

Davis, a former Ole Miss running back, returned to his alma mater as an analyst, where he was able to help coach players during practice before he took the Georgia State job in 2025. 

Western Kentucky took a committee approach to its running back room with Arbuckle and Davis in 2022.

If the Sooners look purely for someone who has previously worked with Arbuckle, Davis checks that box.