Charlotte 49ers head coach Will Healy has announced the hiring of Herb Hand as the program's offensive line coach. Hand, who has 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, spent the previous three seasons as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Texas and enjoyed great success in stints at Auburn, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Tulsa and West Virginia.
"I'm so excited to be able to work with Herb Hand," said Healy. "He has always been one of my favorites in this profession and has been an incredible mentor to me. He is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, and it says a lot about our program that we were able to make such a home run hire. He's a great coach, a great person and a great fit for our staff. Welcome to Charlotte, Hand family."
Hand said, "My wife Deb and I are very excited about this opportunity to join the 49er family. When you're asked 'Why Charlotte?' it starts simply with Will Healy. Having known Coach Healy for the past decade, it's been incredible watching his career unfold. He did a remarkable job in presenting us with his vision for the 49er program, and I'm very grateful that he is entrusting me with the leadership of the offensive line unit. We are looking forward to helping Coach Healy and the rest of the staff with the continued growth of Niner football."
A three-time finalist for Offensive Line Coach of the Year by Football Scoop (2008, 2016, 2017), Hand has coached in offenses that have produced all-time leading rushers at West Virginia, Tulsa and Vanderbilt. At Tulsa, he was co-offensive coordinator alongside Gus Malzahn when the Golden Hurricane became the only offense in college football history to boast a 5,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers in the same season (2007) as their unit led the country in total offense in back-to-back years (2007-08). Hand has worked with six conference championship and three division championship teams.