Charlotte Football Is Absolutely Going For It
It's not too late to jump on the Biff bandwagon
These first two years as a Charlotte 49ers fan have been great, even with the football team going a less-than-ideal 8-16 with zero bowl games in that span.
Going from covering Ohio State — a team with a billion fans, none of which are happy for a single second — to this has been a great change of pace, and the future has never looked brighter.
Charlotte head coach Will Healy was fired in the middle of last season after a deeply embarrassing Homecoming day loss to FIU, which I was in attendance for. Healy seems like a good guy who was well-liked by his players and staff, but something wasn’t working, and it was time for a change.
This was a huge coaching hire decision for the Niners, who are jumping to the American Conference this season, and who are putting more than $100 million into upgrading their athletics facilities, including an expansion to Jerry Richardson Stadium.
With all that in mind, this head coach felt like it needed to be a hit — maybe not a home run, but at least someone who could get Charlotte to bowl eligibility with some consistency. In November, the Niners got their guy:
Biff. Poggi. Michigan’s associate head coach, who I had never heard of prior to the hiring. The hire gave me, uh, mixed emotions, as I did appreciate how out of the box it was, but was also confused as to why Charlotte would take this angle as opposed to a up-and-coming coordinator or an FCS head coach with more experience.
Two months later, I can say that I see the vision, and I am more excited than ever about Charlotte 49ers football.
Poggi has gotten to work very quickly for the Niners. He has assembled an impressive coaching staff that includes offensive coordinator Mike Miller (Maryland co-OC), passing game coordinator Mike Hartline (Auburn QB coach) and rumored defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn (Baltimore Ravens defensive assistant) to name a few.
The staff, on its own, was fun to see put together, but the real, unthinkable hype has come from what Poggi and this new staff have put together on the recruiting trail, both with recruits and through the transfer portal.
As of writing this, Charlotte is bringing in a whopping 47 transfers and recruits for the 2023 class, many of which are record-breaking signees for the program. Agent 49 has done a great job getting all the names, but there are some huge ones here that felt unthinkable just a few months ago:
Demon Clowney, DE from Ole Miss, former four-star
KaTron Evans, DT from Jackson State, former four-star
Durell Robinson, RB recruit, three-star who committed to Charlotte during the All-America Game
Carson Black, QB recruit, three-star initially committed to Memphis
Austin Fontaine, OL from Maryland, former four-star
These might not be setting the world on fire for a lot of programs, but this influx of talent has brought life into a program that lacked it this past season, and that’s in just two months with Poggi at the helm.
The energy from Poggi has also been excellent, as he’s been full of passion about building Charlotte’s program up and getting the fans excited about the product that will be on the field.
Looking back, what Charlotte and Poggi want out of this hire is clear: Immediate results. The Niners have been to one bowl game ever as a FBS program, and with the move to the American on the way, they could not afford to wait any longer to get momentum rolling.
A young, high-potential coach could have paid off in the long run, but it likely would have meant more losing in 2023. Poggi, with this staff, and with this class, is looking to turn it around overnight, and I think that’s the right mentality to have.
Long-term success can, and hopefully will, come later, but Charlotte needs to prove it can win first. One bowl game — where the Niners got crushed in the Bahamas — has not proven that, so putting all your chips into getting the ball rolling is the correct idea.
I also think the Poggi hire is smart in the NIL era: Poggi was previously a very successful hedge fund manager, and has already hired a chairman of an investment firm as an assistant coach and senior advisor. Will this work? I don’t know, but I can appreciate the mentality to try something new in a college football landscape that is seeing many old heads (and Ryan Day for some reason) unwilling to change their ways.
Of course, all of this preseason excitement will mean nothing if it doesn’t get wins on the field. Because Charlotte all of a sudden has a lot more talent than expected very quickly, the expectations are going to be high in Poggi’s first year. If the losses start coming as they have in the past, all the build up may quickly go away.
But I don’t think it’ll happen. No, I don’t expect 10 wins in year one, but I just want to see a bowl game damn it, and I think Poggi is assembling a roster that is 100 percent capable of that goal.
Either way, man I’m pumped to watch this 49ers roster. The Biff era is upon us all, and I recommend joining the craze before it’s too late.
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