Last weekend was easily the worst of Will Healy’s coaching career.
His struggling Charlotte 49ers took the field for homecoming against Florida International and imploded, throwing three interceptions and fumbling twice in a 34-15 loss that was 34-0 at one point. He had a Sunday meeting scheduled with Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill but learned via Twitter before entering Hill’s office that he already had been fired.
Then came the gatherings with his assistants and his players to inform them of the news, with Healy’s wife Emily accompanying him to offer support, but the roughest part of the weekend was having to explain the situation to his oldest child, Eli, who is in second grade.
“I thought he already knew because everybody else did, and he says, ‘At least we play Rice this week, and we beat them last year in overtime,'” Healy said. “I said, ‘Buddy, I got fired. I don’t have a job at Charlotte anymore.’ He just looked at me with these eyes and was like, ‘You mean I don’t get to go to the stadium anymore? You mean I don’t get to see the other coaches’ kids?’
“He goes to school on Monday and hears that I’ve been fired and all that stuff. It was tough. It just breaks your heart.”