CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte 49ers are parting ways with head football coach Biff Poggi during his second season with the team.
Poggi held a 6-16 record with the 49ers. Assistant Tim Brewster will take over as the team's interim head coach for Charlotte's remaining two games, the team announced. Athletic director Mike Hill said the decision to remove Poggi was a difficult one to make.
"This is a tough business," Hill said. "Unfortunately, we weren't making the progress that I felt we needed to make at this point and felt we needed to make a change, so that's why we made the decision that we did. I believe that this institution, this program, deserves a bowl-contending program on a regular basis. I know we have a ton of work to do, this is a 12-year-old program, but at some point, we've got to start performing the way our fans want us to, and I agree with them."
The 49ers are 3-7 after four straight losses, all within the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Charlotte's latest loss was a 59-24 beatdown against USF on Saturday.
Poggi's first season ended with a 3-9 record, which was the same mark posted by the 49ers in 2022.
Brewster, a former head coach at the University of Minnesota, will be the interim head coach for the remainder of 2024. He told reporters the players are still energized despite the frustrating season. Hill said Brewster's experience made him the right candidate to be the interim coach.
"These kids man, they're hurt, but they know we've got work to do," Brewster said. "We're gonna pour everything into our preparation, we're going to do everything that we could possibly do to honor Coach Poggi by winning the last two games of the season and dedicate the process to him. Show him thanks for everything that he's done."
Hill declined to put a timeline on when the next head coach will be hired. He alluded to new dynamics entering the picture of hiring a coach, including the new 12-team college football playoff, as well as the early signing period in December.
"For us, we have a sense of urgency," Hill said. "The most important thing is we get it right. That's why I'd never set an absolute date because there are different things that come into play with searches."
The 49ers hired Poggi after he spent two seasons as an assistant coach under John Harbaugh at the University of Michigan.
Charlotte won its first two conference games this season over Rice and East Carolina but lost the next four AAC games by an average of 26 points.
The 49ers have endured five straight losing seasons with zero bowl appearances. Charlotte's last winning season came in 2019.
Charlotte's final two games are against AAC opponents Florida Atlantic (2-8, 0-6) and UAB (2-8, 1-5). Florida Atlantic similarly fired its head coach on Monday. The two teams face off on Saturday at 3 p.m.