Kris McCullough was a quarterback in high school.
He didn’t play in college.
Yet, in October, he became the youngest head coach in the nation when NCAA Division II East Central University removed an interim tag after he led the Tigers to a 5-2 start after taking over when former coach Al Johnson accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin.
They finished 9-3 and defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville in a postseason bowl, the school’s first bowl victory in 62 seasons.
McCullough, 27, is still the youngest head coach in the nation.
Now, however, it’s at the helm of UTPB.
McCullough, hired in December, was officially introduced as the second coach in program history at a press conference Wednesday at the D. Kirk Edwards Family Performance Center.
He takes over from Justin Carrigan, who, in November, moved off the sidelines to become the school’s Deputy Athletic Director.
“A big thank you to Justin Carrigan,” McCullough said. “He did a phenomenal job in creating a great foundation for me moving forward.
“To my new family of players; I know you didn’t choose me, I understand that, but I chose you. We have a long way to go to get to the goals we have, but we’re not as far away as we think.”
McCullough’s journey to the Permian Basin began when he was sitting in class during his freshman year at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark.
An accounting major, he wasn’t playing football but it wasn’t long before he realized that the numbers he wanted to see were on scoreboards, not spreadsheets.
So he sent Henderson State head coach Scott Maxfield an email volunteering his services, which were quickly accepted.
For the next 30 months, McCullough worked alongside Maxfield, absorbing everything he could about the coaching profession.
When he graduated with his degree, he knew that coaching was where he wanted to be, so he sent off some more emails (3,500) and heard back from less than 100, most thanking him for his interest in their program.
The coaching staff at Old Dominion, however, took a chance and McCullough had found his launching pad.
After a season in Virginia, he moved to Fairmont State in West Virginia as the running backs coach.
Finally, trying to closer to home, he applied to East Central in Ada, Oklahoma, and Johnson hired him in 2018.
McCullough started out coaching quarterbacks and added special teams that same year.
“I was at the bottom of the ladder when I got to East Central,” he said. “Lowest paid coach on the staff.
“But I was going to work hard.”
The hard work paid off as he moved into the offensive coordinator role in 2020 and then was named assistant head coach in 2021.
The right spot at the right time when Johnson made his move to America’s Dairyland.
“The search was highly competitive, we had a really strong list of candidates,” UTPB Vice President for Athletics Todd Dooley said. “Candidates from all across the nation.
“Early in the process it was very evident that Kris should be in the final group. He’s curious, he’s engaging, he’s confident.”
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