Will Healy, Charlotte 49ers finalize football coaching staff for 2022 season

Better late than never, the Charlotte 49ers have finalized their football coaching staff for the 2022 season.

After moving on from co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Brandon Cooper and cornerbacks coach Eddie Hicks, then losing tight ends coach Joe Cox to Alabama, time was of the essence for head coach Will Healy to fill the team’s coaching vacancies.

Following a 5-7 2021 season, where the 49ers surrendered 465 yards and 34 points per game mired by a bottom-10 defense in the nation, Healy had to revamp the defensive staff to contend in conference play.

The 36-year-old head coach plans to add three new members to his staff, featuring two external hires and one internal.

Charlotte is expected to hire 40-year coaching veteran Greg Brown as the team’s next co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. The Queen City is Brown’s 23rd stop in his coaching career, including stints in the NFL and at Alabama, Auburn, Missouri and Purdue.

Brown, 64, served as a volunteer defensive assistant at Colorado last season and will be the oldest member of Charlotte’s staff. Brown coached 49ers’ cornerback Geovante Howard at Purdue in 2019, before Howard entered the transfer portal and Brown was let go from the program in 2020.

Brown will join fourth-year assistant coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Marcus West at the co-defensive coordinator role. West spent the past three seasons calling the defensive plays from the box, with former coach Cooper signaling the calls on the sideline.

The 49ers will also add Colorado State outside linebackers and nickels coach Kap Dede to coach cornerbacks. Dede spent the past two years with the Rams under Chuck Heater’s scheme.

Dede made multiple stops as a quality control coach at Florida (2018) and Mississippi State (2017).

Moving to the offensive side of the ball, Healy elected to hire from within, promoting offensive assistant Tyler Chadwick to become the program’s third tight ends coach in as many seasons.

The previous two coaches, Cox and Cody Woodiel, are now on staff at Power 5 programs Alabama and Miami, respectively.

Chadwick joined the 49ers in 2021 following two years as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Coastal Carolina. Chadwick was captain of the Chanticleers’ 2016 national champion baseball team, batting .310 in the ‘16 College World Series. He also served as starting quarterback for the football team and is the only athlete in NCAA history to hit a home run in the College World Series and win a football game as a starting quarterback.

Healy interviewed the likes of Jay Bateman, North Carolina defensive coordinator (2019-21), and Dave Huxtable, North Carolina State defensive coordinator (2013-19) and current analyst at Alabama for the defensive coordinator position. Conversations with former Charlotte defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer (2018) occurred, but no official interview was set. Spencer has since rejoined former 49ers’ head coach Brad Lambert at Wake Forest coaching linebackers.

The intent was to eliminate the co-defensive coordinator title, but the extended candidate search took longer than expected for Healy.

Bateman elected to join the Florida Gators as linebackers coach and Huxtable returned to the Crimson Tide for another season as defensive analyst under Saban.

Charlotte will announce the staff additions on Monday, with spring practice just days away. The 49ers will begin a series of 14 spring practices starting on Feb. 21, concluding with the program’s spring game on Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m. Charlotte will host its Pro Day on April 1, but the participant list is still to be determined.

Finalizing the staff is step one for Healy and the 49ers. According to ESPN, Charlotte will return 76% of its production from the 2021 season (89% of offense, eighth in nation, 63% of defense, 82nd in nation).

The coming season is big for Healy and the 49ers. Healy’s overall record at Charlotte through three seasons is 14-17, posting the first and only winning season (7-6) and bowl appearance in program history in 2019.

Charlotte has a chance to round out its tenure in C-USA with its first conference championship before joining the American Athletic Conference in 2023.