Cullen Carroll enters his third season working for Coach Brent Brennan as the Director, Football Strength and Conditioning at the University of Arizona in 2026.
In his role, Carroll oversees all aspects of the comprehensive student-athlete development efforts for the Wildcats football program, with a philosophy centered around injury prevention, athletic performance enhancement and mental discipline training.
During his time in Tucson, Carroll has overseen the development of 4 NFL draft Picks, with more anticipated this upcoming draft cycle. In total, Carroll has seen 40 of his athletes selected in the NFL draft, including 5 selected in the first round, most recently highlighted by Tetairoa McMillan going 8th overall to the Carolina Panthers in the 2025 NFL Draft.
For the 2025 season, he and his staff were instrumental in the Wildcats securing their first 5-win month of November in school history, achieving 5 straight wins on their way to a #17 CFP ranking in the final regular season rankings. The 2025 team finished the season with an overall record of 9-3 and an invite to the 2026 Holiday Bowl.
Prior to his start in Tucson, Carroll spent the 2023 season with Coach Brennan at San José State University as the Head of Football Athletic Performance.
While in San José for one season, Carroll was responsible for spearheading the implementation of Sport Science Initiatives with the football program that worked in conjunction with his return to performance protocols and overall developmental philosophy. This approach led to dramatic impacts on player health and availability, contributing to a late season 6-game winning streak, culminating in a share of the MWC regular season title, and an appearance in the 2023 Hawai’i Bowl.
Prior to his arrival to SJSU, Carroll served as the Director of Football Sports Performance at Stanford University for four seasons (2019 – 2022) and was a member of Coach David Shaw's Football staff with the Cardinal for nine seasons overall, starting in 2014.
During his time as Director at Stanford, he oversaw the development of current NFL stars such as Colby Parkinson, Michael Wilson, Paulson Adebo, Drew Dalman, Walker Little, Davis Mills, Tanner McKee and Elijah Higgins.
Prior to being named Director in 2019, Carroll served for two+ seasons as the Assistant Director of Football Sports Performance for (2017 – 2019), for three seasons as an Assistant Sports Performance Coach (2014 – 2016), and began his time on the farm as an Intern in Winter of 2014, before quickly being elevated to an Assistant Sports Performance coach that Spring, all under the guidance of his mentor, Shannon Turley.
Before coming to Stanford, Carroll assisted with all aspects of Football Sports Performance at Wake Forest University in 2013 as an Intern.
A native of Petaluma Calif., Carroll holds a master's degree in Kinesiology from San José State University, and a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science from Willamette University, where he was an All-Northwest Conference linebacker. Carroll began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant serving as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Willamette Football program in the spring of his senior year.
He is certified SCCC through the CSCCa, CSCS through the NSCA, and is CPR/AED/First Aid certified through the American Heart Association.
He and his wife, Kylie Carroll (Mulligan), live in Tucson with their son, Joseph.
Coaching History
- 2024 – Present: Director of Football Sports Performance – Arizona
- 2023: Head of Football Athletic Performance – San José State
- 2019 – 2022: Director of Football Sports Performance – Stanford
- 2017 – 2019: Assistant Director of Football Sports Performance – Stanford
- 2014 – 2016: Assistant Football Sports Performance Coach – Stanford
- 2014: Football Sports Performance Intern – Stanford
- 2013: Football Sports Performance Intern – Wake Forest
- 2013: Student Assistant: Head Strength & Conditioning Coach – Willamette
