(01-17-2019 01:23 PM)_sturt_ Wrote:  Looking into Spencer's background, I see he brought some OK State DC experience and seemingly some success from there. So, now I'm left to wonder why it was even thought to be necessary to make West a co-DC in the first place, but maybe since he held that title at Howard, Lambert wanted him bad enough to give him the same title in Charlotte (?).

Probably to help West out on his next stop would be my guess. Also a chance to gain that experience for him.

True. Hate to say it, but maybe it was thought that a co-DC title at FCS Howard to safeties coach at non-auto FBS Charlotte would be considered a lateral move at best. But you'd have to think he at least worked with Spencer on game planning, no?

(01-17-2019 05:07 PM)_sturt_ Wrote:  True. Hate to say it, but maybe it was thought that a co-DC title at FCS Howard to safeties coach at non-auto FBS Charlotte would be considered a lateral move at best. But you'd have to think he at least worked with Spencer on game planning, no?

I would think so. Our DBs played way off the line all 6 years. It seemed to be to cover up a lack of speed on the edge. In my opinion, our safeties have been more talented than our corners. Last year, our defense took a huge leap forward. No doubt Spencer gets a ton of credit for that but Lambert hired him and was his head coach. So he has to get some credit for that improvement also. Same would go for West. I don't think Lambert's performance as Head Coach will have very little bearing on how he will perform as a DC. I hope he does well 11 weeks of 12 every year. I think he learned a lot at Charlotte and will be a better coach because of it. If I am a Marshall fan I would not be upset with this hire at all.

Based on Grant Taylor's story from November, wonder if we might see a few other Charlotte refugees eventually come to Huntington on the player side of things...

Quote:HUNTINGTON — When Charlotte football coach Brad Lambert makes the trip to Huntington with his team Friday, no one will have to show him around the area.

Huntington still feels like a small piece of home for the 49ers head coach, who was an assistant at Marshall from 1990-95 under Jim Donnan.

There is a gamut of emotions brought about for Lambert with a trip back to Huntington for Charlotte’s game against Marshall at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

“It’s always an emotional trip for us, obviously, because my wife went to school there and I met her there,” Lambert said earlier this week. “Doc Holliday has been really good to me over the years. There’s just a lot of ties and a lot of good memories there and a lot of good alumni from that university that I have stayed in touch with over the years. It’s an emotional day to go back and play there for sure.”

One of the major ties between the programs had been Phil Ratliff, who coached offensive line for Lambert up until his death at age 44 on Aug. 9, 2015. Ratliff was an All-American at Marshall during Lambert’s time as an assistant with the Thundering Herd and also was an assistant for Holliday before joining Lambert’s staff at Charlotte when the program started in 2011.

Now, Ratliff’s son Dylan is a freshman in the Charlotte football program after starring at Hickory Ridge (N.C.) over the last few years. Dylan Ratliff is not the only member on Charlotte’s football roster with Marshall or Huntington ties, either.

“We’ve got three players on our current team, their dads played for Marshall: Dylan Ratliff, Cody Bartram — his dad played in the league for a long time and he played for us at Marshall — and Caleb Parker. I was making fun of [Parker] the other day. His dad, Chris Parker, was a great tailback for us and won a lot of games. I was giving Caleb a hard time because half the time I call him Chris because he runs just like his dad. It’s pretty cool, from that standpoint.”

In addition to the three players whose fathers ran with the Herd, Charlotte also boasts former Spring Valley offensive lineman Trevor Stacy, who will be facing a former Spring Valley teammate for the second straight week.

Last week, Stacy got reacquainted with Tennessee offensive lineman Riley Locklear when the 49ers fell 14-3 to the Volunteers. This week, Stacy will face Locklear’s older brother Alex, who is a lineman for the Herd, along with linebacker Tyler Brown, who played quarterback for the Timberwolves in high school.

The familiarity between the players and coaches also breeds respect and gives the game an edge, as was proven in Charlotte’s lone prior visit to Huntington. The 49ers left town with a 27-24 win in 2016.

Holliday heaped praise on Lambert earlier this week, lauding Lambert’s efforts within the program, which has moved its record to 4-5 this season and has its sights set on achieving bowl eligibility in the final three weeks of play.

“Brad just does a tremendous job of coaching those guys up,” Holliday said. “They are extremely well coached. Obviously, he has done a great job recruiting because he has some guys on defense, as well as offensively, that can really play. I am happy for Brad every Saturday, except for this one. I am happy that he is doing well and has that team playing really hard, but we have to find a way to beat them this week.”..............