After 1-11 season, why 49ers coach Brad Lambert says he’s still ‘right guy for this place’

Expectations can be tricky in college football.

At no program is that more true than the Charlotte 49ers, who wrapped up a 1-11 season Saturday after a 31-12 loss against Florida Atlantic in front of a crowd of 8,330 at Richardson Stadium.

With the Charlotte football program in just its fifth year of existence, there should be little surprise that the 49ers struggled. Two years after their 2013 inception, the 49ers made a quick jump from the Football Championship Subdivision to Conference USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision, so as not to be left out of the conference realignment craze that overtook Division I football several years ago.

But a 1-11 record is just that: a 1-11 record.

The responsibility for that ultimately falls to Brad Lambert, who remains the only coach the 49ers have had after he was brought in to launch the program in 2013.

“Yeah, no question, no doubt about it,” Lambert said Saturday after the FAU game, when asked if he thought he was still the right coach for the 49ers. “We’ve started fast and everybody wants more wins. I want more wins. We don’t come to work 14-hour days to lose, I promise you that. But there’s no doubt I’m the right guy for this place.”

Athletics director Judy Rose had no comment for the Observer on Saturday about Lambert’s job status. She plans to talk about her evalution of the football program with the Observer next week, a spokesman with the school’s athletics media relations department said.

Lambert, whose contract runs through the 2019 season, has a five-year record of 17-41, 7-29 in the three seasons since the 49ers moved up. Charlotte is 4-20 in C-USA play over that time.

The 49ers crashed to 1-11 after going 4-8 in 2016, a performance that exceeded expectations for a program that was then four years old. When the 49ers beat Southern Mississippi to improve their record to 4-5, overly ambitious talk of a potential bowl bid cropped up around the program and its fans.

A season-ending, three-game losing streak – one that grew to 10 games into this season – put an end to that.

Still, the 49ers of 2016 probably built unreasonable hopes for this season, during which the 49ers were occasionally competitive in league play but were too often overwhelmed by an obvious talent and experience gap.

But Lambert, the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest before coming to Charlotte, hasn’t had the benefit of a roster loaded with legitimate FBS-caliber prospects coming out of high school. Still, Lambert showed he and his staff are capable of developing prospects as they did in 2016, when six players off that 4-8 team ended up in NFL preseason or training camps.

There don’t appear to be any players with that kind of talent on this year’s roster. But the 49ers are young, with 19 starters returning in 2018.

Recruiting is a subjective business, so the quality of Charlotte’s incoming class will be unknown for a while. But there is no doubt the program is missing former offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Phil Ratliff, who died unexpectedly in 2015. Ratliff had a reputation as a top-notch recruiter and helped the program land sleeper prospects like defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns earlier this year.

“We come in with the right attitude to represent this university in the right fashion,” Lambert said. “We need a better record next year. We’ve got to continually grow and move forward and win games.”

Saturday’s game

Florida Atlantic helped Charlotte close out a one-victory season.

FAU (9-3, 8-0 Conference USA), which led 24-6 at halftime, had already clinched the East Division title and will face North Texas for the league championship next Saturday.

The 49ers (1-11, 1-7) finished with the most losses in school history.

Three who mattered

Hasaan Klugh, Charlotte: The 49ers’ junior quarterback was responsible for both Charlotte scores, throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Benny LeMay in the second quarter and running it in from 6 yards in the third quarter.

Jason Driskel, FAU: The Owls’ quarterback hurt Charlotte with his legs (40 yards rushing) and arm, going 18-for-22 for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

Ben DeLuca, Charlotte: 49ers’ free safety forced two fumbles – his fourth and fifth of the season. That’s a single-season school record and also leads C-USA.

Observations

▪ The 49ers tried a fake punt on their first possession and it backfired badly when punter Arthur Hart’s pass sailed over the head of receiver Trent Bostick. The Owls took advantage, scoring six plays later on a 4-yard run by Devin Singletary (108 yards).

▪ Hart, who also holds for point-after kicks and field goals, took a direct snap during a two-point conversion attempt after Charlotte’s second touchdown but couldn’t score.

▪ The 49ers’ offense seemed out of sorts for much of the game. At no time was that more apparent than with 1 minute left in the first half when the 49ers began a drive after FAU had scored to take a 24-6 lead. On the first play, center Darren Drake snapped the ball before Klugh was ready. Klugh bobbled the ball and fell on it, resulting in a 6-yard loss. The 49ers’ drive would go nowhere after two running plays produced 1 yard.

Worth mentioning

▪ The 49ers honored 13 seniors before the game. Included were the program’s all-time leaders in tackles (Karrington King), punting (Hart), kick returning (Chris Montgomery) and games played (receiver T.L. Ford and offensive lineman Wolfgang Zacherl).

▪ The Owls entered the game ranked second in Conference USA in total offense (477.4 yards per game). FAU had 294 by halftime and finished with 563.

▪  DeLuca forced his fourth and fifth fumbles of the season in the second half. That’s a Charlotte single-season record and it leads C-USA in that category.

▪ Charlotte’s kicking problems continued. Freshman Kyle Corbett missed a 46-yard field goal and a point-after. Corbett, Nigel Macauley and Jackson Vansickle combined to make 4-of-13 field goal attempts this season.

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 6:51 PM with the headline "After 1-11 season, why 49ers coach Brad Lambert says he’s still ‘right guy for this place’."