Or meet Alan Major mk. II.
If rumors are correct, UNCC will name Wake Forest assistant Brad Lambert the school’s first football coach. The parallels with Major are interesting — and maybe concerning. Are we certain AD Judy Rose knows that UNCC is not a small private school in a very small, non-professional market?
Major, a Purdue grad, came to UNCC from Xavier Ohio State, before that Xavier Ohio State. Lambert’s bio reads Wake, and before that Georgia. Only a stint at Marshall from 1990 to 95 hints at the size and type of program Lambert, a Kansas St. product, will have to construct — from scratch — at UNCC. As UNCC is neither a small, private school with a devoted fan base nor a massive public athletics behemoth, you have to wonder about the experience profile.
Even more so, a defensive coach trends against high-flying 1-AA offenses, the mark of successful programs at that level. Emphasizing defense is a bold (?) way to go for a program that is trying to attract attention. And it must be said that Lambert’s best Wake defenses were the product of many years of red-shirting and a ton of experience — two things UNCC gridders will not have for years to come.
Still, as important as his personal qualifications might be, much more will be told by the staff Lambert assembles. That is really the tricky part in getting the Niners headed in the right direction.
Like Major, the top gig at UNCC would be Lambert’s first as a head coach.
