Three Big Questions: Charlotte 49ers
A look at each FBS program heading into 2023, alphabetically
Do you like conference realignment? Charlotte certainly does! The 49ers are escaping the faltering Conference USA this season, opening up their inaugural season in the American conference. Will they compete for the American crown? Probably not. They were one of the nation’s bottom teams in 2022. But, this is a major market program that has taken a very unique path to hunt for relevance. Will they get there? Let’s take a look and see
Team Information
School: Charlotte 49ers
Conference: American (Note: Competed in Conference USA in 2022)
2022 Record: 3-9 (2-6)
Bowl: N/A
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Biff Poggi, first season
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Miller, first season
Defensive Coordinator: Ryan Osborne, first season
1. Who the heck is Biff Poggi?
One of the nation’s newest football programs is turning to a name that, frankly, sounds fake to build their program in a new conference. On November 15, 2022, Poggi was named Charlotte’s third ever head coach.
So, who is Biff Poggi?
Poggi’s only college experience comes from working at Michigan as Jim Harbaugh’s assistant head coach. Does he bring some revolutionary offense? No, he doesn’t have an offense. Well, what about a strong defense? No, not really. See, he doesn’t have a defense either.
Charlotte decided to go with the CEO coaching approach that’s becoming more and more popular now. But, there’s only one problem: most CEO coaches have some massive experience that they draw off of. Nick Saban is Nick Saban. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl. Deion Sanders is Prime Time and had massive success at Jackson State. Eddie George was a star NFL running back. Poggi was a hedge fund manager.
Now, that’s not to say that Poggi has never coached before. He got his start at Baltimore-area Gilman High School. There, he won 13 Maryland titles in his 19 years. Following his time at Gilman, he poured money into Saint Francis Academy, which he also was the coach of. Ultimately, he built that program into a high school national powerhouse.
Poggi has plenty of high school experience, but we all know that high school and Division I FBS football are vastly different. Can he use his high school experience to draw good recruiting classes? Sure, but high school coaches don’t recruit. He also wasn’t heralded as a great recruiter at Michigan. Will this hire work out? Honestly, I don’t know. But, he has a tall task ahead of him.
2. Does the transfer class bring in enough talent?
Let’s not beat around the bush here: Charlotte was not a good team in 2022. They lost to FCS William and Mary by multiple scores.
To infuse some talent, Poggi hit the portal hard. The 49ers brought in a whopping 16 transfers for this season, and that doesn’t include anything else they add in the spring window.
Pretty much every position has been represented in this transfer class, but they’re not joining a roster that had much to being with. Is it enough?
Most of the players were rated as three-stars coming out of high school, but they haven’t played. At least, not enough for 247 Sports to assess them a transfer rating. That doesn’t bode well for the 49ers.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that this isn’t a team that’s going to jump to compete in year one. Poggi and his staff are trying to build something in Charlotte, and they’ll need time to do that. But, the massive amount of transfer players is concerning for this team.
3. Are any returning players going to step up?
So the transfer class isn’t great, but large. What about the current roster?
Quarterback Chris Reynolds had a surprisingly good season a year ago, but he’s gone. His top target, wideout Elijah Spencer, transferred to Minnesota.
The defense is getting some production back, though. Junior defensive tackle Jalar Holley is going to anchor the defensive front. Last season, he had 38 total tackles and one sack. Pairing him with Michigan edge rusher transfers Eyabi Oke and Julius Welschof could give the 49ers a solid defensive line to build off of.
Also in the defensive front seven is great tackler senior Prince Bernah. Bernah returns after a 62-tackle, two sack season in 2022. He’s a very solid Group of Five linebacker and should be able to shut down the run in the middle if they get past Holley.
Outside of those two players, though? There’s really not much. Everyone that produced last year is gone, either to graduation or the portal. Everyone coming in from the portal is a question mark. So, there’s not much to prognosticate here.
What are the expectations for Charlotte?
This is something I don’t like, but I don’t think Charlotte does well this year. They won three games a year ago, and have so much work to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished with a worse record than a year ago, now that they’re in a new conference.
I hope that this unconventional hire can work out, but it’s going to be rough sledding the first few years. Don’t expect too much from the 49ers. And to any Charlotte fans out there? Breathe. Patience is a virtue. Let the plan play out, let Poggi recruit his team and his players, and then make judgements. Administration is going to do that, and you should too.