Who will be Charlotte 49ers’ next head football coach? Early names to watch

Charlotte became the second FBS football program in the Old North State to dismiss its head coach this fall, firing Biff Poggi on Monday evening.

The 49ers join fellow American Athletic Conference partner East Carolina in searching for a new leader of its football program. Poggi was let go before completing his second full season in the Queen City. He posted a 6-16 overall record in his tenure.

Here are some early names that have been floating around already as possible candidates to take over for Poggi in Charlotte:

Tim Brewster, Charlotte interim coach

Poggi was an out-of-the-box hire: a successful hedge-fund manager who became a long-time high school coach in Maryland and then spent a short stint as an assistant at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh.

The 49ers may want a candidate with more substantial collegiate coaching experience this time around. Brewster, who was appointed Charlotte’s interim coach this week, could fit that bill. He has several decades of experience with big-name programs (Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida State, Florida, Texas A&M and Mississippi State among them), including four years as head coach at Minnesota.

He’s known as a stellar recruiter and made an instant impact on the recruiting trail when Poggi hired him to coach tight ends in the off-season. If the 49ers finish strong against Florida Atlantic and UAB, maybe Brewer gets a lengthy look for the head job.

Steve Wilks, volunteer advisor at Charlotte

The West Charlotte High School and Appalachian State graduate got his coaching start at Johnson C. Smith in the mid-1990s. He served two stints as an assistant with the Carolina Panthers (2012-2017 and 2022), being named the interim head coach in ‘22 when Matt Rhule was fired. 

Despite leading Carolina to a solid 6-6 record and gaining traction to be the Panthers’ permanent head coach, Frank Reich ultimately was offered the job. Wilks then served as defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers only to be fired in February after the Niners lost to Kansas City in the Super Bowl.

Wilks signed on for a volunteer role with Charlotte’s football team in August.

Alex Atkins, former Charlotte and Florida State OC 

Alex Atkins parlayed a strong season as Charlotte’s offensive line coach and offensive coordinator in 2019 into the same jobs at Florida State. He was OC for the Seminoles in 2022 and again last season when the team went undefeated in the regular season. Atkins was let go recently along with two other assistants as Florida State struggles through a 1-9 campaign.

Hunter Bailey, 49ers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer, said on the Highway 49 Podcast on Monday night that Atkins’ name “continues to pop up.”

“He had a monster season with Charlotte (in 2019). He had Chris Reynolds at quarterback. They made a ton of things happen, going 7-6 and having one of the best offensive seasons the program has seen.” 

The 2019 campaign is Charlotte’s only bowl season. With Atkins now a free agent in the coaching market, could the timing of the coaching change in Charlotte be to make a run at Atkins before other programs snap him up?

Pep Hamilton, NFL Network analyst

The Charlotte native and Howard University grad has a long history as a college and NFL assistant. He most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans (2022). He was reportedly in the running for the Charlotte 49ers gig before the school ultimately settled on Poggi.

Hamilton’s only head coaching experience came during a five-game stretch with the DC Defenders of the XFL in 2020 before the league shut down for COVID.

Mike Minter, former Campbell coach

Mike Minter is a popular name in Charlotte, having played for the Carolina Panthers for a decade. Minter served as head coach at FCS Campbell from 2013-23 and is now a defensive analyst with Western Michigan. He was 49-66 at Campbell as it transitioned from the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League (2008-17) to the Big South Conference (2018-22) and now to the CAA. 

Glenn Spencer, Wake Forest defensive assistant

Another long-time college assistant with experience at Charlotte, he served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach with the 49ers in 2018. He now coaches linebackers at Wake Forest. 

Spencer served as head coach at D2 West Georgia from 1998-2000, compiling a 28-7 record. He has been a well-traveled assistant since then, including a stint at Duke from 2004-07. He was interim head coach at FAU in 2019 when Lane Kiffin left for Ole Miss, winning the bowl game.

Shane Montgomery, interim HC at UMass

Shane Montgomery was a standout quarterback at NC State and later coached with the Wolfpack and East Carolina. He was on the Charlotte staff in 2018 as offensive coordinator. Montgomery was just named interim head coach at UMass following the firing of Don Brown.

Kerwin Bell, Western Carolina head coach

Also mentioned with the East Carolina opening when Mike Houston was let go, Bell has directed a high-powered offensive attack in Cullowhee the past couple of seasons. Western Carolina led the FCS in yards-per-game a year ago and is coming off a 58-point effort this past weekend against VMI with a back-up quarterback. WCU is 6-5 heading into its finale against Samford. 

Bell has roots at the University of Florida and could be interested in that job if it ever came open. But the Gators announced recently that embattled coach Billy Napier would return in 2025, so that could work in Charlotte’s favor if the school wanted to make a run at a successful FCS coach located just a few hours to the west.

Zac Alley, Oklahoma defensive coordinator

The Charlotte native, who went to school at Charlotte Country Day, is a young up-and-comer in the coaching ranks. He spent time on Dabo Swinney’s Clemson staff before joining Brent Venables at Oklahoma.

Dan Mullen, ESPN/ABC analyst

Mentioned, it seems, whenever an FBS job comes open these days, Mullen served as head coach at Mississippi State and Florida between 2009-21. Should Mullen decide to return to coaching, Charlotte would be an intriguing destination – a vibrant city with a strong high school recruiting footprint in a very winnable “Group of Five” conference. 

Coaching Carousel News & Notes

• There are currently three head coach openings within North Carolina college program. Elizabeth City State, a D2 school that plays in the CIAA, recently dismissed Marcus Hilliard. 
• As of now, five schools in the American Athletic Conference have openings, counting Charlotte and East Carolina. FAU, Rice and Temple are the others. 
• East Carolina has won three games in a row since making Blake Harrell the interim head coach, leading pundits to wonder if he’ll be offered the full-time post. The Pirates survived at Tulsa last Thursday night and will play at North Texas on Saturday.

Follow NCFootballNews.com for the latest updates on Charlotte’s head coach search and other coaching carousel news from across North Carolina.