University of Richmond Athletics
Fisher Named Head Coach at Western Illinois
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – For the second time in the past month, a member of the University of Richmond football family was handed the reigns to their own program.
Charlie Fisher, the offensive coordinator for the Spiders this past season, was officially introduced as the Head Coach of the Western Illinois Leathernecks today.
“We’re really excited for Coach Fisher. This is a great opportunity for Charlie to be able to be a head coach again in a very prominent league, like the Missouri Valley, and at a prominent program like Western Illinois,” Richmond Head Coach Danny Rocco said. “He did an outstanding job for us at the University of Richmond in both positions he held during his time here. He will certainly be missed. I think this hire by Western Illinois is a very positive reflection of our program and we wish him nothing but the best and continued success.”
Fisher joins former Richmond quarterback Will Healy as the second member of the Richmond family to be named a head coach in the past month. Healy was named Head Coach at Austin Peay on Dec. 23.
In all, Fisher spent two seasons with the Spiders, serving as the Wide Receivers Coach during the 2014 campaign. During his time at Richmond, the Spiders went 19-9 and reached at least the second round of the playoffs in both seasons.
With Fisher at the helm of the offense this past year, Richmond ranked 19th nationally in total offense (451.9 yards per game) and 23rd in scoring (33 ppg). In addition, first-year starting quarterback Kyle Lauletta threw for the second-most passing yards in school history this past season.
The Spiders scored 37 or more points in half of their 14 games, including wins at James Madison (59-49) as part of the ESPN College GameDay event and at Illinois State (39-27) in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
During the 2014 season, the Spiders ranked eighth in the country in passing offense, and were second in conversions on third down and fourth down.
During that year, he helped Richmond have the first pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers in program history. Reggie Diggs had 85 receptions for 1,157 yards and seven touchdowns, while Brian Brown totaled 79 catches for 1,089 yards and four scores. For their efforts, Diggs was named Second-Team All-CAA, while Brown was named third-team all-conference.
In total, eight offensive players earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors and three earned All-American accolades under Fisher’s supervision.