Pressure mounting for an FIU football turnaround with a visit from Charlotte coming Friday

FIU’s football team has lost 11 of its past 12 games, with zero wins coming against FBS programs during a two-year slump that began with a loss at Marshall on Nov. 30, 2019.

After Tuesday’s practice, only cornerback Josh Valentine-Turner was made available to the one reporter there to cover the team.

FIU coach Butch Davis said Valentine-Turner is a “great kid.” But Davis did not stop for his customary mid-week interview with The Miami Herald.

Earlier Tuesday, NBC-6 reported on its website that FIU has posted the position of head coach on the American Football Coaches Association website. FIU released the following statement regarding the matter:

“It’s important to understand that FIU Athletics has two coaching pools available at all times — one for head coaches and another for assistant coaches. This practice allows for having multiple positions listed in one post, which remains perpetually open, so that an active pool of candidates is always available, should a coaching position open. This allows for hiring without delay. Every quarter, the new job ID for that posting is generated.”

Last week, FIU lost the annual Shula Bowl to rival Florida Atlantic,58-21. It was the fifth consecutive year FIU has lost to FAU, and the cumulative score isn’t close: 234-85.

No current FIU player or coach was on the roster the last time the Panthers beat the Owls, which was in 2016.

FIU is now 1-4 overall and 0-1 in Conference USA this season.

The Panthers will play host to Charlotte (3-1, 1-0) in a C-USA game on Friday night. The Charlotte game will mark the official end of the first half of FIU’s season.

After that, the Panthers will have a bye week and then finish its regular season with six consecutive conference games.

That means there’s plenty of time for FIU to turn its season around. A bowl game and a league title are not impossible, but the Panthers have little time to fix their issues.

First-year defensive coordinator Everett Withers — who was also asked for but not made available to the media Tuesday — leads a unit that is tied for last in the 14-team conference, allowing an average of 35.2 points per game.

“We just have to play more together,” said Valentine-Turner, speaking for FIU. “We have a lot of guys who are capable of making plays. We just have to put it all together.”

Out of 13 FAU possessions this past Saturday, Florida Atlantic scored on nine of them. FIU did not force any turnovers, although the Panthers did stop the Owls on downs once.

“There are a lot of moving pieces,” said Valentine-Turner, who is in his third season at FIU after spending two years with the Iowa Hawkeyes. “We need guys to read their keys and do their assignments.

“Football is a team sport. We need everybody to do their job and do the right thing on every play.”

That’s not happening right now, and it’s effecting the offense, too. Running back D’vonte Price is considered FIU’s best player.

But Price, after a good start, has struggled. He ran for 276 yards and a 9.9 average in his first two games this year. In the three games since, he has 135 yards and a 2.8 average.

Another issue for FIU is that most of the players at key spots are veterans such as Price as well as sixth-year quarterback Max Bortenschlager. The top receivers are Tyrese Chambers and Bryce Singleton. All four of those players are likely in their final collegiate season, and the same can be said about many of FIU’s best defensive players, too.

So, for the moment, the team is neither winning nor giving key starting spots to players who have multiple years left in their college careers.

However, in fairness, Davis is the most accomplished coach in FIU’s brief history. He helped build and rebuild a Miami Hurricanes dynasty that lasted for three decades. He took the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs.

And Davis – in his first three years at FIU – took the Panthers to three straight bowl games, a program first. He inherited a 4-8 FIU team and led the Panthers to a 23-16 record from 2017 to 2019. That run included a Bahamas Bowl win over Toledo and the first-ever FIU victory over the Hurricanes.

Focusing on Friday night’s game, FIU has never lost to Charlotte, going 5-0. The Panthers beat the 49ers most recently in 2019, winning 48-23.

In addition, Charlotte is 3-17 in its 20 most recent road games, all of which explains why FIU is a 3½-point favorite.

However, that 2019 FIU team, led by NFL fourth-round pick James Morgan at quarterback, appears – so far – to be much better than the current club.

Also, Charlotte appears greatly improved since then. The 49ers opened this year by shocking Duke, 31-28. It was Charlotte’s first-ever win over a Power Five program.

Other highlights for Charlotte this season include a 42-39 league win over Middle Tennessee and a 24-14 hard-fought loss at Illinois.