This post started out on Monday, November 18th to be a "by the numbers" post to break down where things stood under Poggi after four straight losses, but now it will be a postmortem, as it was announced by numerous media outlets just before the team meeting at 7pm ET to inform the players that Director of Athletics Mike Hill has made a leadership change.
This will not be pretty, but after all my time following and covering Charlotte, I've learned it's best to keep emotions out of stories such as this, and let the data do the talking. Charlotte's era under Biff Poggi began with bravado and shit-talking, unfortunately it could never be backed up on the gridiron, as the Biff Poggi era ends with the Niners going 6-16 before he was fired with 2 games remaining in year 2.
Two of those six wins came over FCS opponents, and a paltry 1-8 at home record versus FBS opponents, with an average outcome of 4 points for the opposing team, and just 18.9 for CLT. Yes, Charlotte annihilated ECU at home, and it was a great weekend, but outside of that Charlotte has had just 2 close games in the other 8: a 14-0 loss to Navy, and a 44-38 overtime loss to Memphis. The games just weren't competitive enough.
Mike Miller's offense just never gained traction in two seasons here. Whether that's due to subpar Quarterback play, or an ineffective offensive line, the results just weren't there. In FBS games Charlotte scored 18.75 points per game, and never had a QB surpasses 300 passing yards in a game. Defensively things are just as bleak, as Ryan Osborn's units yielded 34.15 points per game to FBS foes, including a 39.8 mark so far at home in season two. In addition to the poor performances on both sides of the ball, Charlotte was continuously plagued with penalties, being one of the most penalized teams in the country in both seasons.
Reports are that Associate Head Coach Tim Brewster will lead the program through the final two games of the season, which include FAU (who just fired Tom Herman, also before he completed two full seasons), and UAB, where fans are calling for Trent Dilfer's job as well.
The Landscape of the AAC and beyond
What's more American than an open and free market? That's what the AAC is right now, with ECU, Rice, Temple, FAU, and Charlotte all currently open. Also open are Kennesaw State (CUSA), UMass (MAC), Ball State (MAC), Southern Miss (Sun Belt), Utah State (MWC) and Fresno State (MWC).
The portal is now officially open for Charlotte, and I'm fully prepared for the damn to break and a mass exodus to ensue. That's just the nature of things today. I'll have more on what I hope to see in the next Charlotte 49ers coach later today.
