The nation's youngest head coach is now on his second head coaching job.
UT-Permian Basin is set to hire 27-year-old Kris McCullough as its head coach, the school announced Thursday.
UT-Permian Basin is located in Odessa, Texas. The Falcons compete in Division II's Lone Star Conference and went 5-6 this fall under head coach Justin Carrigan, who transitioned to a leadership role within the athletics department after the season.
McCullough comes to West Texas from East Central (D-II - OK), where he was promoted to head coach on Oct. 27. Stepping in mid-season, McCullough led East Central to wins in their final three games, including a 38-21 defeat of Texas A&M-Kingsville in the Heritage Bowl on Dec. 3.
"What Kris has done in a short amount of time in charge of a football program is quite remarkable," said AD Todd Dooley. "Throughout the entire search process Kris' charisma and vision stood out in a very competitive group of candidates. He checks all the boxes in what we are looking for in our pursuit of comprehensive excellence."
McCullough's path to the Permian Basin was well traveled.
He began coaching as an undergraduate at Henderson State (D-II - AR), where he worked with every offensive skill position. McCullough spent time coaching at Old Dominion and Fairmont State before joining the ECU staff as quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator before promotions to offensive coordinator and head coach. McCullough took over in October when head coach Al Johnson took the running backs job at Wisconsin, his alma mater.
"First, I'd like to thank everyone at East Central," said McCullough. "I enjoyed every second spent in Ada and at East Central and want to thank them for believing in me and giving me a chance to be a head coach. We made history at that school in many ways, and no one can take that away from the student-athletes and coaches. I'm so excited for this opportunity! My wife Hannah and I can't wait to arrive in the Permian Basin to get started and meet all the great folks in West Texas as we level up UTPB Football. Falcons Up!"
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