Biff Poggi made a statement to open Charlotte football’s weekly news conference Tuesday.
Ryan Osborn, the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach in his second season with the 49ers, joined a thread on X in which Charlotte fans had shared a clip from this past week’s win at Rice and were breaking down efforts from individual players.
“It came to my attention that coach Osborn had been in an inappropriate back and forth with a fan on Twitter,” Poggi said Tuesday. “I met with coach Osborn, and we had a very stern talk. That is completely unacceptable. He knows it. He issued an apology, and it will not happen again.
“What I said to him is: Go home tonight, and thank God that we coach at a place where our fans care. Because, I’m not going to name names, but we have been places, and I have been places where nobody cares. Our fans care. They show up. Our program is 12 years old, hasn’t had the wins our fans wanted, but they keep showing up.”
In multiple posts, Osborn alleged that the owner of “Niner Nuisance,” a Charlotte-centric X page with more than 1,100 followers, has a brother who works for the football team and is inside the building regularly.
“This morning I made some reactionary comments to criticism on social media, and I sincerely apologize for responding so poorly,” Osborn posted to X on Sunday evening. “Niner Nation is amazing, and I made a mistake, plain and simple.”
The “Niner Nuisance” account had responded to Osborn — “my brother is professional in what he does. ... please do not make comments that could negatively affect my family” — and then came the most criticized of Osborn’s replies on Sunday afternoon.
“Exactly, things people say can negatively affect families,” Osborn wrote Sunday. “Fan support? There’s not support (from some yes and those people I have supported back) - I don’t ever come on here and bash / criticize you guys but when people say things on here it works both ways, you can be critical and so can I. Works both ways.”
Will Max come back? QB Brown is a game-time decision
There’s a chance that Max Brown returns this weekend.
Brown, the standout quarterback who injured his throwing thumb earlier in the season, has returned to practice for Charlotte. He will dress and be considered a game-time decision for Saturday’s conference game against East Carolina, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. inside Jerry Richardson Stadium.
Trexler Ivey started for Charlotte last weekend at Rice, and this time it was true freshman Deshawn Purdie who relieved him and led the Niners to victory. Purdie started in Charlotte’s previous win against Gardner-Webb at home, where Ivey entered late and flipped the scoreboard.
“They have a lot of faith, and they love each other,” Poggi said. “Nobody was happier than Trexler Ivey. And when Trexler came in against Gardner-Webb, nobody was happier than Deshawn Purdie. You could feel the energy on the field during the second half with these kids.”
