Can Biff Poggi’s unconventional style work for Charlotte football?

Charlotte Football hired Biff Poggi this offseason.

There were several unique hires in college football this off-season. From Colorado bringing in Coach Prime to UAB hiring Trent Dilfer, there was no shortage of out-of-the-box hires. Perhaps no hire was more unconventional than Charlotte football hiring Biff Poggi to become its new head coach.

Francis Xavier “Biff” Poggi is familiar with unconventional. Poggi took an unconventional route to coaching college football. Poggi always wanted to coach, but when he got married, his father-in-law wanted to ensure his new son-in-law could provide for his family. As a result, Poggi went to work managing a hedge fund for his father-in-law.

Poggi spent 30 years at the Gillman school as an assistant and then as head coach. He had two stints at Michigan (2016 and 2021) before getting the head coaching job at Charlotte. Now, he takes over a program headed to a new conference.

Moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference is more than a notion. However, they don’t have to deal with Cincinnati or Houston this season.

2023 is the ninth season of Charlotte football at the FBS level. It’s a young program, but it is in a city rich with talented football players. Can Poggi and his staff tap into that talent pool?

Here’s a look at the offense, defense, and the schedule.