Four North Carolina universities who play in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision have changed head coaches this season. After this past weekend, three of them have now made new hires.
Appalachian State on Saturday announced that it was hiring Dowell Loggains as the 23rd head coach of the Mountaineers. On Sunday, UNC-Charlotte named Tim Albin as its next head coach, the fourth in in the 49ers' short history as an FBS program.
Loggains, 44, comes to Boone after working as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Carolina for the past two seasons. This year, the Gamecocks posted a 9-3 record and — with a freshman quarterback — ranked in the top 50 nationally in scoring, yardage, rushing, first downs, and completion percentage.
Before his stint at South Carolina, Loggains was the tight ends coach at his alma mater, Arkansas, for two seasons. Prior to that, he spent 13 years in the NFL as an offensive assistant, working for the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets. He has never been a head coach before.
App State's Board of Trustees and interim chancellor Heather Norris approved a five-year contract for Loggains on Saturday. He succeeds Shawn Clark, an App State alum who posted a win-loss record of 40-24 in six seasons, but failed to capture a conference championship during that time and went 5-6 this season.
"He brings experience as a leader and play-caller at the highest levels of professional and college football. He is a great recruiter and believes strongly in building relationships," App State athletic director Doug Gillin said of Loggains.
Added Norris: "We have a longstanding and proud football tradition at App State, with a national reputation for excellence and success on and off the field. App State has one of the nation's best home-field advantages, as well as a strong academic record. … We are looking forward to Dowell becoming a Mountaineer."
Charlotte found itself in the market for a new football coach after firing Biff Poggi in early November. Poggi — a successful and well-known high school football coach in Baltimore, Maryland, a former assistant coach at Michigan, and a former hedge fund manager — had gone 6-16 in fewer than two full seasons on the job before Charlotte dismissed him.
Albin, 59, comes to Charlotte after being the head coach at Ohio University for four years. Albin led the Bobcats to three consecutive 10-win seasons, culminating in winning the Mid-American Conference championship this season. Prior to becoming the head coach at Ohio, he had been the offensive coordinator there under longtime coach Frank Solich since 2005.
Before hiring Albin, multiple reports indicated that Charlotte spoke with former Louisville and Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino about the job, as well as N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson — who wound up taking the head coaching job at Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia.
"Coach Albin brings not only an impressive record of success on the field but also a deep commitment to the development of student-athletes as leaders and scholars," Charlotte Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber said in a statement. "Under his leadership, I am confident that our football program will continue to grow, thrive, and represent Charlotte with pride."
Since joining FBS in 2015, Charlotte has had one winning season, going 7-6 in 2019.
Albin and Loggains will begin their new coaching tenures against each other on Aug. 28, when Charlotte plays App State at Bank of America Stadium to open the 2025 season.
At East Carolina, Blake Harrell has the Pirates bowl-bound after the program fired former coach Mike Houston in October. Harrell, previously ECU's defensive coordinator, took the reins of the program on an interim basis and led the Pirates to a 4-1 finish in the regular season, earning them bowl eligibility. ECU rewarded Harrell by making him the full-time head coach with a four-year contract worth about $1.3 million per year. The Pirates will face rival N.C. State in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland on Dec. 28.
The lone opening remaining at the FBS level in the Tar Heel State is at UNC-Chapel Hill, where Mack Brown was fired after six seasons in his second stint leading the Tar Heels. It's been 13 days since athletic director Bubba Cunningham announced that Brown would not return to the sidelines next season. The Tar Heels finished 6-6 this year, losing to both Duke and N.C. State, and losing 70-50 at home to James Madison.
As the search continues for UNC, multiple reports suggest that one of the candidates the Tar Heels are pursuing is Bill Belichick — the 73-year-old former New England Patriots coach who owns six Super Bowl rings. Other names in the mix, according to multiple reports, include Army’s Jeff Monken, Liberty's Jamey Chadwell and Iowa State's Matt Campbell.
During an interview on ESPN with Pat McAfee on Monday afternoon, Belichick confirmed reports that he has spoken to UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts about job. His father, the late Steve Belichick, coached running backs at UNC from 1953 to 1955.
“College football is more like pro football. I think there are some similarities… I grew up around college football with some great Navy teams" Belichick told McAfee. "I’ve had the opportunity to talk to Chancellor Roberts and we’ve had a couple of good conversations. So, we’ll see how it goes.”
