One of the more underrated coaching jobs of the 2019 season has been what Will Healy has done in his first year at Charlotte. The 49ers had never won more than five games since the program was reinstated but they turned that on its head this year by going 7-5 after a 38–22 win on Saturday over Old Dominion.
As a result, the team is bowl eligible for the first time ever.... and already know where they’re going. In what could be a case of setting the postseason bar way, way too high, Charlotte accepted a bid to the Bahamas Bowl on Sunday morning and will face Buffalo on Dec. 20 at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Healy, who has turned the home locker room into a club after wins, decided to tell his team this bit of news in a unique way as you can see:
Will “Scuba Steve” Healy just made the Bahamas Bowl announcement.
— Charlotte Football (@CharlotteFTBL) December 1, 2019
“Nobody’s going to have more fun on a bowl trip than we will.”#GOLDstandard | #EstablishTheFUN pic.twitter.com/gg4YA8EvEO
“We are ecstatic to accept an invitation to play in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl. It means so much to me that this group, especially our outstanding seniors — our Gold Standard — will have a chance to play together one more time,” said Healy in a statement. “To do it in paradise? We couldn’t ask for anything more. Nothing will ever change the fact that this team was the first to go to a bowl game in Charlotte Football history. That’s incredible, and I am so proud of everyone who worked so hard to make this a reality. We’ll have to work hard in the coming weeks to prepare for an excellent Buffalo team.”
Who knows if the Scuba Steve reference flew over the heads of the youngsters in the room but kudos for Healy keeping thing interesting in the bowl reveal. Something says it won’t be the last time he’ll be doing so.