Charlotte 49ers AD makes football coaching change

Charlotte 49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill has announced that Brad Lambert will not be retained as head football coach.

“We’ve decided to make a change in our football program,” said Hill. “It is a decision I made after an opportunity to assess my first football season here. It’s about the trajectory of the program and putting us in the best position for the future. We elected to make this decision now so that we could begin the search immediately.”

Lambert, the only coach the program has known, put together a 21-48 record in the program’s first six years, which included the inaugural two years as an FCS Independent and four years at the FBS level as a member of Conference USA. The historic moments are many during Lambert’s six seasons, including victories in the first-ever game and inaugural FBS game. In 2016, he became the first Conference USA coach to defeat traditional league powers Southern Miss and Marshall on the road in the same season.

“We could not have found a better man than Brad Lambert to start our program, and we appreciate all of Brad’s years of service in building a program with character and integrity,” said UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois.

“I would like to thank Chancellor Dubois and Judy (Rose) for the opportunity they gave me to start this program,” said Lambert. “I would also like to thank our staff and student-athletes who poured themselves into this program for us. I could not be prouder of all the young men and all that they have accomplished on and off the field.”

Hill stated, “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to coach Lambert for the foundation he established, the culture that he built and the student-athletes he brought into our program. Like many of his players, he took a tremendous leap of faith when he took on the challenge of building our program. Our program is on solid ground thanks, in large part, to the love and effort he consistently put into developing our student-athletes.”

Lambert will stay on and coach the season finale Saturday at Florida Atlantic.

The 49ers will begin a national search immediately.

Hill and Dubois will be available to the media noon, Monday, Nov. 19, the Barnhardt Student Activity Center Salons.