Tony Gibson a potential candidate for the Charlotte head coaching job

There’s a vacancy down the road in Charlotte after the 49ers fired head coach Will Healy over the weekend. Healy led the program to its first and only bowl appearance back in 2019, but I guess that didn’t earn him much benefit of the doubt from his administration.

Anyway, when it comes to replacing Healy, Charlotte might not look far. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman wrote on Sunday that he expects NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson to get some consideration. (He also has former Wolfpack linebacker Clayton White, now an assistant at South Carolina, on his list.)

Gibson has raised his profile significantly over the last couple of years thanks to the performance of his NC State defenses, and this offseason would be a logical time for him to try to cash that in for a head coaching job. His defense is going to lose a lot, and his stock may never be higher.

Charlotte is gonna have to pony up, though. Healy was only the seventh-highest paid coach in C-USA, with a salary around $836,000. Gibson is already making more than that at NC State and just signed a three-year extension earlier this year.

To lure Gibson, the 49ers would need to offer him a decent bump over $1 million annually—whether they’re willing to do that, I have no idea.