In a rough debut season, Tim Albin preaches accountability

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte football coach Tim Albin is the voice of accountability in a debut season of lopsided losses and injuries that have decimated the 49ers' roster.

The Charlotte 49ers’ goal at this point of the season is to get to the end as healthy as possible.

Charlotte (1-4, 0-2 American) went to South Florida and got run out of the stadium 54-26 in a game that was never really in question. Charlotte has several key players out with injuries and a few out for the year. 

With quarterback Conner Harrell and running back Henry Rutledge out for the season, Charlotte turned to Grayson Loftis and C.J. Stokes to fill those voids against the Bulls. Stokes performed well with 13 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. 

Loftis, however, was pulled after going 2-for-11 and an interception and replaced by third-stringer Zach Wilcke. Wilcke performed well given the circumstances, going 14-of-18 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. 

So, while it appears to be doom and gloom for 49er fans, given an injury list as long as CVS Pharmacy receipts, maybe it is time to pump the brakes and manage expectations a little. Of course, every fan for any school wants to win every game, and that is understandable. But there comes a point where realism has to set in. 

Charlotte played one of the toughest schedules a first-year coach could have asked for and even after managing just one win in five games, coach Tim Albin is staying positive when it would be easy to blame everything on injuries. He accepts responsibility. 

“They got after us in all three phases,” he said after the USF game. “They did a really good job. That quarterback [Byrum Brown], we didn’t get a lot of pressure on him. He escaped and he is tough to bring down. He breaks through a lot of arm tackles and really makes them go.”

One thing about Albin that is different from prior Charlotte coaches is that he can self-reflect and internalizes a lot better. He doesn’t mince words about his team’s play. 

“On our performance, it was a really rough first half,” Albin said. “We had big eyes. A deer in the headlights type thing. The nine penalties in the first quarter and early into the second crushed me. Our defense was out there too much. We could not help our defense, offensively. We made a change and put Zach in there and there was a little spark. … I don’t have the stats in front of me but 13-14 penalties, you’re just not going to win football games that way, it doesn’t matter who is coaching them.”

Charlotte needs a coach like this, and it is imperative that the people making decisions in the athletic department give him time to get 49ers football going in the right direction.

According to ESPN analytics, the 49ers’ best chance of winning another game among their last seven is Oct. 18 against Temple and even so, the numbers suggest the Owls are 77.9% favorites. To quote the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” “So, you’re telling me there’s a chance?” Well, there is always a chance, but without your starting quarterback, a key running back and overall banged up across the roster, it is not going to be easy moving forward. 

But give Albin a fair shake. He is a proven coach who has won a lot of games. It is not time to give up on him yet. He knows how to take accountability, and to me, having covered all but one of Charlotte’s coaches since the program’s inception, that speaks volumes in and of itself. 

Cameron Williams covers Charlotte athletics for The Post. 

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