Gardner-Webb fires football coach Kent McCullough
Gardner-Webb officials announced Wednesday afternoon that Kris McCullough has been fired as head football coach, just one game into his tenure.
In a three-sentence news release, the Cleveland County school said McCullough, 30, had "been terminated, immediately."
Gardner-Webb officials said they would have no additional comment “at this time.”
The firing comes two days after the school announced McCullough had been suspended, pending an investigation. Gardner-Webb officials have not said what led to the investigation and the firing.
Pete Bennett, an assistant in his second year with the Runnin’ Bulldogs, has been named interim coach. His first game in that role will be Saturday, when Gardner-Webb visits Wofford.
McCullough was the youngest head football coach in the nation when he was named to lead East Central University in 2022. He was 26 at the time.
He coached East Central, of Ada, Ok., to a 9-3 record in 2022 and then took the head coaching job at UT Permian Basin. Mccullough guided UT Permian Basin to a 10-2 record and an NCAA Division 2 playoff berth in 2023.
After a 7-5 campaign in 2024, McCullough coached the west Texas school to an 11-3 record last fall. The Falcons reached the Division 2 quarterfinals.
Gardner-Webb hired McCullough, an Arkansas native, two days before last Christmas.
His team opened the season last Thursday with a 35-17 loss to Austin Peay.
McCullough is married with two children.
Bennett, the interim head coach, was hired by Gardner-Webb in 2024 as special teams coach. Before that, he served as an assistant at N.C. Central, Memphis, South Alabama, and Central Arkansas.
He played quarterback and wide receiver in college at N.C. Wesleyan.
