Gardner-Webb Fires Head Coach Kris McCullough After Just One Game

After only one week of college football, the coaching carousel has already started the FCS level.

Gardner-Webb announced a change in leadership for its football program this afternoon, terminating head coach Kris McCullough's contract after only one game. The news was first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel on Wednesday.

The move comes after McCullough was suspended earlier this week as the university conducted an investigation into off-field allegations. The official details of the allegations are not publicly available at this time. The university also declined to release a public statement following the news.

In McCullough's only game as head coach, the Runnin' Bulldogs lost to No. 18 Austin Peay on Thursday night. After holding a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, Gardner-Webb allowed 28 unanswered points before a late touchdown cut the lead to 35-17.

McCullough was one of the biggest head coaching hires of this past offseason. He was 28-10 over three seasons at UT Permian Basin, where he led the Falcons to two appearances in the Division II playoffs. In his first season at UTPB, he was named the LSC Coach of the Year and led the program to its first 8-0 record in conference play.

In 2022, McCullough became the youngest head coach in college football at only 26 years old at East Central. He only spent one season with the Tigers before taking the head coaching job at UTPB, but finished the year 9-3 with a win in the Heritage Bowl.

Following McCullough's firing, the program will have to search for its 4th different head coach since 2023. Former head coach Tre Lamb departed after the 2023 season for ETSU, and then head coach Cris Reisert was hired as the offensive coordinator at Toledo following the 2025 season.

Under Lamb, this program made the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history in 2022. The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated Eastern Kentucky for their first-ever playoff win, and then returned to the postseason in 2023, but fell to Mercer in the first round.

Unfortunately, this is just another setback for a program that looked like it was trending in the right direction less than five seasons ago. The lack of continuity and stability has contributed to Gardner-Webb falling short of being a real factor in the OVC race.

Special teams coordinator Pete Bennett will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2026 college football season. He's been on staff since 2024, coaching multiple All-Conference selections for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Bennett previously served as an assistant at North Carolina Central, Memphis, South Alabama, and Central Arkansas.

Bennett will lead the Runnin' Bulldogs into a tough Week 1 game against Wofford.

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