Charlotte football fires 49ers head coach Biff Poggi
11/18/2024 08:23 PM
Charlotte football just created the newest NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coach opening. The 49ers have fired Biff Poggi, per ESPN College Football insider Pete Thamel on Monday evening.
Poggi spent only two seasons with the American Athletic Conference program. He joins Tom Herman as AAC coaches who got fired on the same day. Herman and Florida Atlantic parted ways on Monday morning. But for Poggi, the 65-year-old leaves his post with a 6-15 mark. He never won more than three regular season victories at Charlotte.
The veteran head coach served on Jim Harbaugh’s support staff at Michigan from 2021-2022 before taking over at Charlotte. Poggi also established himself as a stout high school coach for Saint Frances Academy in Maryland. Poggi coached at the prep level from 2017-2020. He also had another prep stop at the Gilman School in Maryland –leading them to 13 state titles.
He became renown for wearing cutoff sleeves during 49ers games. Poggi also famously ripped the media during AAC media day in 2023 after only fielding three questions. Poggi’s buyout is set at approximately $1.3 million.
Poggi’s final 49ers team is 3-7 and dealing with a myriad of injuries. Charlotte endured back-to-back lopsided losses to No. 20 Tulane (34-3) and Saturday’s loss to South Florida (59-24).
Who replaces Biff Poggi for the Charlotte 49ers?
For the time being, former Deion Sanders Colorado assistant Tim Brewster now takes over. Brewster gets elevated from his tight ends/associate head coach position. And Brewster’s first game? Against Florida Atlantic, which has Chad Lunsford making his interim head coach debut.
Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill released a statement thanking Poggi for his efforts, but cited on-field performance for prompting the change.
"I am thankful to Biff Poggi for his leadership and mentorship of our student-athletes over these past two seasons," Hill said. "No one can question Biff's passion for helping young people succeed in life, both personally and professionally, but our on-field results have unfortunately fallen short of everyone's expectations."
Now the focus shifts to the future of Charlotte football. The 49ers have delivered just one winning season since the program’s rebirth of 2013. Will Healy led a 7-6 campaign for Charlotte in 2019 during a time the 49ers represented Conference USA. Who looks appealing to the 49ers’ opening?
Charlotte may appeal more to a past Power Five conference head coach looking for redemption. Gene Chizik isn’t far from the 49ers, as he’s the defensive coordinator for North Carolina. The 49ers could present the 2010 national champion coach of Auburn with one more head coaching opportunity.
Perhaps the 49ers can take a big swing at James Madison head coach Bob Chesney. He has the Dukes 8-2 overall. But Curt Cignetti’s success in jumping from JMU to leading No. 5 Indiana could coax Charlotte into attempting a similar experiment.
One more name to watch is someone with city of Charlotte ties: Mike Minter, former Campbell head coach. Minter, though, was a beloved hard-hitting safety for the Carolina Panthers before leading the Fighting Camels for 10 seasons, where he won 49 games. He spent this season out of coaching.
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