Gardner-Webb head coach Cris Reisert resigned and is expected to take the offensive coordinator role at Toledo under Mike Jacobs, according to FootballScoop. Reisert went 11-13 in two seasons at GWU.
Reisert played quarterback at Ohio Dominican and became a graduate assistant in 2009. In 2010, he was promoted to the quarterbacks coach and was named the wide receivers coach in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, he moved on to Ball State as a graduate assistant. From 2014 through 2016, Reisert was the tight ends coach at Elon before returning to Ohio Dominican as the offensive coordinator. He stayed with his alma mater for two seasons (2017 and 2018) before landing his first head coaching job.
In his first season at NCAA Division II Tiffin, Resiert led the Dragons to a 9-2 overall record, won the G-MAC, and made the playoffs. Tiffin went 6-0 in the 2020-21 season, before returning in fall 2021 to go 8-3 overall. After dropping to 6-5 overall in 2022 and losing in the America’s Crossroads Bowl, Reisert led the Dragons back atop the G-MAC in 2024. Tiffin went undefeated in the regular season and won the G-MAC title, while reaching the second round of the D-II playoffs. Reisert went 40-11 overall, 32-4 in G-MAC games, won three conference titles, and made two D-II playoff appearances.
In December 2023, Reisert was named the head coach at Gardner-Webb, replacing Tre Lamb. The Bulldogs went 4-8 overall in 2024. Five of the eight losses were by less than a score, including a 27-26 loss at Charlotte. The 2025 season saw GWU improve to 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the OVC-Big South. Two of the losses came by less than a touchdown in the final month, including a six-point loss at Tennessee Tech. Reisert is 51-24 overall and 40-12 in conference games in his career. He joins Mike Jacobs at Toledo, who also had 10 successful seasons at the FCS and D-II levels.
Reisert is the 16th FCS coaching change to occur in the current cycle. Albany (CAA), Bucknell (Patriot League), Cal Poly (Big Sky), Florida A&M (SWAC), Hampton (CAA), Mercer (SoCon), Monmouth (CAA), New Hampshire (CAA), Penn (Ivy League), Portland State (Big Sky), Sacramento State (Big Sky), Samford (SoCon), Southern (SWAC), Weber State (Big Sky), and West Georgia (UAC) have also announced changes. The full list of changes can be found here.
Photo Credit to Gardner-Webb University Athletics
