Why Charlotte fired football coach Will Healy and what comes next

Charlotte fired football coach Will Healy after a 1-7 start to the 2022 season, the school announced Sunday. Offensive line coach Pete Rossomando will serve as interim head coach.

Healy was in the hot seat due to the 49ers’ struggles this season and a 0-4 record against Conference USA opponents. Charlotte is on a four-game losing streak, including Saturday’s 34-15 loss to Florida International.

GO DEEPER

Charlotte coaching job profile with Will Healy out: Pluses, minuses and candidates

The 49ers’ lone win this season came in a stunning fourth-quarter comeback victory over Georgia State in Week 4. Chris Reynolds threw a 2-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Grant DuBose with 17 seconds left for the win.

Advertisement

Charlotte followed the win with losses to South Carolina, UTEP, UAB and FIU.

In three-plus seasons with Charlotte, Healy went 15-24, with his lone winning campaign (7-6) coming in 2019. That season set school records for most wins, most Conference USA wins (five) and most home wins (five) while earning a bid to the program’s first bowl game. The 49ers’ thrilling season ended in a loss to Buffalo at the Bahamas Bowl.

Healy’s tenure spun downward at the end because of the defense. Last year’s Charlotte defense ranked 114th in scoring, so Healy overhauled the defensive staff in an attempt to fix things, but this year’s defense is 131st nationally in scoring, dead last in the country.

He’s had an unusual career path. Healy spent seven years as a Chattanooga assistant and became Austin Peay’s head coach at just 30 years old in 2016. He turned that downtrodden program around quickly and moved to Charlotte. Healy’s still just 37 years old. But he’s been a culture-focused head coach and doesn’t have coordinator experience, so it’s hard to see where he lands. Perhaps he goes back to the FCS level, where he could likely get another head-coaching job.

It’s very early, but potential names to watch for Charlotte’s coaching vacancy could include Pep Hamilton, Gene Chizik, Skip Holtz and Mike Minter.

(Photo: Jim Dedmon / USA Today)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57knBpamhga3xzfJFrZmpoX2eAcMPIpaNmoJWWubp5xaKpnpxdmLWivsuoq62dXw%3D%3D