CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The name Dean Smith, the man hired to coach Charlotte FC, is synonymous with success in the state of North Carolina. The legendary head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels won a pair of NCAA championships in his illustrious career.
Now, Smith is charged with the task of taking Charlotte FC to the next level.
Charlotte FC hired Smith on Tuesday, and before stepping foot on the sidelines in Charlotte, Smith will already have a nice size fan club waiting for him.
Michael Smoak is the Chairperson of the Aston Villa FC Supporters group in Charlotte. They gather at his Middle James Brewing Taproom in Pineville for all games, opening early to accommodate the start times when matches kickoff in England. Smoak is keenly aware of the new Charlotte FC head coach, as he led Smoak's beloved AVFC back to relevance in the Premier League.
"The players love him as a manager," Smoak said Wednesday. "We’re talking about a big time Premier League coach. He brought Aston Villa out of the championship, went on a 10 game win streak, kept them in the Premier League. This is a big hire for Charlotte FC. [Team owner David] Tepper did his research, and found the right man."
The 10-game win streak Smoak references is the AVFC club record for consecutive wins. He is highly regarded in coaching circles, and will try to do for Charlotte FC what he has done with Aston Villa.
Charlotte FC will enter the 2024 season with their third head coach in their third season of existence. Miguel Angel Ramirez was hired for the first season, but fired in the early stages of the 2022 campaign, and replaced by Christian Lattanzio on an interim basis.
Charlotte made Lattanzio the full-time head coach to begin 2023, but he was released by the team in spite of Charlotte reaching the play-in round of the Major League Soccer playoffs for the first time.
As for Smoak, and his AVFC supporters, having Smith at the helm of the club is a positive sign, not just for his knowledge of soccer, but for his personality.
Smoak says Smith is one of the nicest people he's ever met, and even recalled a chance encounter in an airport.
"We were in the Philadelphia airport, he walked into the same area we were in," Smoak said with a grin. "I talked to him for a little while, nicest guy you've ever met. Talked to my kids a lot, my son was ecstatic."
Charlotte FC fans are hoping they can enjoy those same feelings with their own Dean Smith as head coach.