Kris McCullough was dismissed as the head college football coach at Gardner-Webb after only one game. The 30-year-old made a notable change to his bio on social media on the day of his ouster.
However, he continues to list himself as a husband.
As of this writing, the exact reasons for this college football shakeup have not yet been made public. Rumors are rampant.
Gardner-Webb fired Kris McCullough.
At 30 years old, Kris McCullough was (is?) considered one of the top up-and-coming offensive minds in the sport. He was hired by Gardner-Webb in December after three years at Division II UT Permian Basin and one year at Division II East Central.
McCullough was named to 247Sports’ 30 under 30, the AFCA 35 under 35 and Dave Campbell’s 40 under 40 in 2023. UT Permian Basin, a program that was founded in 2016 and had not finished with a winning record, went 10-2 with an undefeated record in the Lone Star Conference. The Falcons went 7-5 in 2024 and 11-3 in 2025. They ultimately lost in the quarterfinals.
From there, McCullough moved on to the Bulldogs. There was a lot of buzz in Boiling Springs, North Carolina about the new hire. He was able to retain most of the roster and got a lot of players to buy-in to his system.
It did not take long for things to go horribly wrong.
Gardner-Webb lost its first game of the 2026 regular season on Saturday. The university announced McCullough had been suspended just a few days later. The suspension stemmed from “off the field” allegations. No further information was provided.
As soon as the news was announced, McCullough’s former offensive coordinator at UT Permian Basin accused him of being a “power hungry fat nerd” in a scathing rant on X. Meanwhile, the investigation continued.
It came to a conclusion on Wednesday afternoon. Gardner-Webb University announced a change in football leadership before the second game of the regular season. Kris McCullough is out. His contract was terminated, effective immediately.
He no longer lists himself as a college football coach.
The Bulldogs have yet to reveal the reason for the ouster. However, there are a lot of rumors. Some of them are worse than others. None of them are great.
However, it seems like Kris McCullough is holding tight to his family amid the off-the-field issues.
The 30-year-old made an immediate change to his bio on X after he was let go. His bio used to list him ‘FCS D1 Head Football Coach @ Gardner-Webb University.’ His header photo used to show him as head coach of the Bulldogs.
That is no longer the case because he was fired. McCullough removed his former title at Gardner-Webb from his bio and changed his header photo to another photo with his wife and two children.
Given the nature of the rumors, it is a statement for McCullough to change his header to that photo. He did not remove ‘Husband’ from his bio.
It will be interesting to see whether the allegations become public or if the university decides to reveal the findings of its investigation. All we know is that Kris McCullough was fired for “off-the-field” reasons.