Once ‘sidetracked,’ Charlotte 49ers found way back to winning ways

It was two games into the Charlotte 49ers’ Conference USA season and Will Healy had quickly learned a lesson about coaching on the Football Bowl Subdvision level.

“I was probably young, dumb and naive enough to think we could go out and strap it up and win games in this league because you have some energy,” Healy said in October, after the 49ers had dropped consecutive games against Florida Atlantic and Florida International by lopsided margins. “We’re getting a dose of reality.”

That realization, for a 34-year-old first-year coach whose calling card actually is youthful enthusiasm and energy, was perhaps the turning point of the 49ers’ season. After a subsequent loss to Western Kentucky, the 49ers (7-5, 5-3 C-USA) have reeled off five consecutive victories, clinched a winning season and will play in the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 20 — all firsts for the seven-year-old program.

And while Healy’s 49ers have become well known for their post-game “Club Lit” locker-room victory celebrations and have responded to their coach’s ever-sunny personality, something else has been going on:

The 49ers have all the hallmarks of a well-coached, disciplined team that is not getting by with “some energy” any more.

Charlotte’s nonconference season included victories against the Football Championship Subdivision’s Gardner-Webb and Massachusetts, a team that recently finished 1-11. Charlotte played well in a 56-41 loss to Appalachian State and, while losing 52-10 to then-No. 1 Clemson, at least felt like it gave a respectable representation of the program on national television.

The nature of that 2-2 start fostered a false sense of security within the program, and it started at the top.

“I got a little sidetracked with ‘we’re winning some games and the culture is where we want it to be,’ ” Healy said last week, a few days before the 49ers ended the regular season with a 36-22 victory over Old Dominion. “We (had) guys believing we’re executing at a high level and let some of the culture pieces slide.

“The process was, kind of, let’s go out and give it our best shot on Saturday, versus what we put into it to earn the opportunity to go compete and win.”

The week of the Western Kentucky game, Healy began to stress non-football messages during team meetings (called the Fourth Quarter).

“It’s 15 minutes of something other than football,” Healy said. “(Last week we allowed) the seniors to stand up and talk about their experience. Talk about what culture changes they’ve seen. What culture changes are going to stick with them beyond this year. Then I tell the teammates to tell them what’s made an impact for them, regarding that particular senior, which is as dynamic as anything we can possibly do. It’s all about how I grow and how do I become a leader, voice my opinion, create consistency in my life, that is larger than football but could be pertained to football. I think we’ve become a tighter football team due to some of those things.”

The 49ers lost to Western Kentucky 30-14, dropping their record to 2-5 (0-3 in C-USA), but Healy thought a corner was being turned.

“I really feel like my mindset changed the week of the Western Kentucky game,” Healy said. “And then, I think our process changed and our culture changed really that week. We played OK the first half; obviously, didn’t get it done in the second. But just the energy around the whole football team, and the way we played – how hard we played, how positive we were during that game, how well we overcame adversity – to me, was changing. I felt a lot better about our football team after the loss to Western Kentucky.”

Charlotte has won five straight since. The culture piece is now blending with the football side of the equation.

“We are totally committed to the process,” senior linebacker Jeff Gemmell said.

The 49ers, on both sides of the ball, have adjusted to the new systems brought in by Healy and his assistants. Players like quarterback Chris Reynolds, running back Benny LeMay, receiver Victor Tucker and defensive ends Alex Highsmith and Markees Watts have turned in all-conference caliber seasons. Reynolds will likely be in the C-USA offensive player-of-the-year conversation.

All that’s come from a young coach who is continuing to understand how success can drawn from many different places.

“I think that’s what has made them hungry and made them want to achieve success,” Healy said. “We cannot forget how we felt at that time and have to keep the same chip on our shoulder to prove our doubters wrong (with) the us versus the world mentality.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 1:02 PM.