Charlotte 49ers coach Biff Poggi says program ‘hit the lottery’ with addition of Dré Bly

Dré Bly isn’t your typical college football coach.

His resume is the stuff of legend, and his energy level, even at 47, is only matched by the young players he hopes to inspire within the Charlotte 49ers’ football program.

That’s why 49ers head coach Biff Poggi was eager to add the two-time NFL Pro Bowler to his staff in the spring.

Coming off a one-year coaching stint with the NFC North-winning Detroit Lions, Bly was eager to come back to Charlotte, and Poggi’s influence on his son, Trey, played a key role in the College Football Hall-of-Famer joining the 49ers family.

“What drives me is me having kids to mentor,” Bly told The Observer. “And I felt like Biff, and with all he’s done for my son — I love his vision, he’s been a very successful man in the business world, and he knows how to win. He knows how to be successful. ... I just felt like we’ve got a lot in common.”

Bly, who was a standout recruiter at his alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, brings years of playing, coaching and relationship-building experience with him to the 49ers. Bly began his coaching career in Charlotte while mentoring Trey at Myers Park High, and from there he went on the path to becoming a college recruiter, a college assistant coach and eventually an NFL assistant coach.

That experience intrigued Poggi, who grew fond of Trey after the younger Bly joined his staff as a graduate assistant last year. It turns out that hiring Trey actually helped lure his father to the program.

Dré Bly reached out to 49ers associate head coach Tim Brewster, who had worked with Bly during both his playing and coaching days under Mack Brown at North Carolina, and the former cornerback mentioned that he was interested in potentially joining Poggi’s staff. In April, the program announced Bly’s arrival as a defensive analyst.

“It was just a no-brainer at that point,” Poggi said. “Dré is a hall-of-fame player — huge, huge skill set. But most importantly, he is great with kids, and a really good human being. He’s a salt of the earth person, and we just felt like we hit the lottery being able to have him.”

Dré and Trey

While Bly was looking forward to returning to Charlotte, he was even more excited about the possibility of joining his son, Trey, on the 49ers coaching staff. The father and son were inseparable during the Trey’s childhood, which led to Bly coaching him at Myers Park.

During Trey’s senior season, Bly got an assistant coaching job at North Carolina, reuniting with Brown and Brewster in Chapel Hill. Trey landed with the 49ers as a recruit and played for the program from 2019 to 2022 before becoming a grad assistant last season under Poggi.

While Trey was playing for the 49ers, Bly was commuting back and forth from Chapel Hill to Charlotte, and the pair didn’t see each other much. But with both Blys coaching, the draw of working together gave the proud father a reason to make the best of both worlds with a reunion.

“Having the chance to be around your son and mentor your son is something that is hard to shy away from,” Bly said. “And I haven’t lived at home in six years — I’ve been commuting. For five years, I’ve been going back and forth. And having the chance to be home and sleep in my own bed, but still have a chance to do what I love to do, that was a no-brainer.”

“For me, levels don’t matter,” Bly continued. “This is what I was telling folks — I’m not searching for fame — I’ve won a Super Bowl, I’m in the College Football Hall of Fame, and then what I did at the University of North Carolina as a coach and recruiting the best players and being ACC Recruiter of the Year, so that other stuff doesn’t really matter to me.”

For Trey, having his father as a co-worker has allowed them to reinvigorate their relationship and become even closer. Initially, Trey was unsure of how his father’s arrival would impact his standing with his fellow coaches. But so far, so good.

“Everyone sees that I’m my own person — and it’s been awesome,” Trey said. “Cause I can still be my own person, but still embrace my legacy, and I’m proud of that legacy. And I can use my name to help other people, just like he has. So, I would say I thought it was going to difficult but it’s been easy, and he’s been awesome to work with.”

Poggi, who has six children of his own, has enjoyed watching the father and son interact on the practice field and in meeting rooms. It’s part of the culture the head coach is working to build in Charlotte.

“They have a great relationship, a tremendous amount of respect for each other,” Poggi said.

“You can see the love they have for each other. Actually, I was talking to Trey today during one of our early morning workouts — it’s hilarious — he said to me, ‘How’s my dad doing?’” Poggi laughed. “‘He’s doing really good, kid. He’s doing really good.’ You’d expect the other way around, right? But they have a very close relationship and it’s very gratifying to see.”

Brown has mentored Bly throughout the majority of his adult life. The longtime Tar Heels coach has enjoyed watching Bly grow as a coach, father and man over the years, and seeing his former pupil unite with his son has extra special meaning to him.

“Dré is a great father, he’s a tremendous husband, players just absolutely love him, he’s an unbelievable recruiter — he recruited some of the top players that we’ve had over our five years — and he’s learning as a coach,” Brown said. “He was very inexperienced. He was a great player who hadn’t coached outside of the lower levels, so it’s been fun to watch him in college and with Detroit, with the Lions. He loves Carolina so much. He loves the Lions so much. And he’s just admired and adored at those two places. And now to see him on the same staff with his son — and we all as fathers love our sons — none of us love our sons and daughters as much as Dré Bly.”

Learning and recruiting

Bly has spent the past six years learning the coaching trade. After a standout playing career, which featured multiple college and NFL accolades, a Super Bowl win, and 43 interceptions in 11 pro seasons, Bly was still hungry to be around the game.

So, in 2019, Bly was hired by Brown as the Tar Heels’ cornerbacks coach. While he taught technique to the players at his former position, Bly said his role was largely based around recruiting and not coaching.

Bly was extremely successful with his recruiting work, earning 247 Sports’ ACC Recruiter of the Year award in 2022 during his final season with Brown’s staff.

Still, he longed to lead a position room and become a better coach, which led him back to one of his former NFL teams, the Detroit Lions. He was named a cornerbacks coach under head coach Dan Campbell last offseason and worked with up-and-coming defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

The experience of working in the NFL paid off for Bly, as he got a telescopic view of the coaching profession, from play-calling to scheme design.

“I never thought when I was at Carolina that I could potentially be a (defensive coordinator), or that I wanted to be a DC,” Bly said. “I thought I could probably be a head coach because I could lead and I could recruit — I could lead men. Well, after going to Detroit last year, I was at the highest level of ball — so I didn’t have to recruit. So, I learned every day. It was like I was in grad school of football.”

But after another year away from his family, Bly was interested in getting back to Charlotte. He also wanted the ability to have more say on a coaching staff.

The opportunity with the 49ers was a “win-win situation,” according to Bly.

“It was a situation where I was ready to do something different,” Bly said. “I was missing home. … A better opportunity presented itself for me to be here, and that’s what I did. I felt like that was what was best for me and my family — me being at home.”

Bly has settled into his new post in Charlotte with the vigor he had during his playing career. He has hit the ground running — both literally and figuratively — for the 49ers, according to Poggi.

During practice, Bly has challenged wide receivers in coverage. He has also used his recruiting skills and local relationships to improve the program’s long-term outlook.

“It’s critical,” Poggi said. “If I’m a young defensive back, or any other position, and Dré Bly talks to me, and presents a case for why I should be in Charlotte, it has an awful lot of weight.”

Guiding the next generation

Bly has seen everything from the perspective of a star cornerback. That’s why Brown thinks Bly has thrived as a recruiter during his short college coaching career.

Bly’s name and reputation obviously hold a lot of weight, but his personality also does a lot of work on the recruiting trail.

“He is someone all the parents remember, for sure,” Brown said. “And then the parents can show the players his video (highlights), and he’s so dynamic as a player. And then when they get to meet him, he’s just got a dynamic personality — and everybody likes him. So I think that’s why — I think when you’ve been there and you’ve done that — he’s done everything that these young players want to do. So, they have a natural draw to him.”

And while Bly wants to continue to grow as a coach and a leader, he is just as eager to build up the 49ers brand under Poggi.

The defensive analyst believes in Poggi’s program, which he says is on the upswing, and he wants to be part of that bright future.

“That’s essentially what I’m in it for — to work, win and compete,” Bly said. “And just give what I know, and try to make this next generation better than what I was.”