Charlotte Football Elevates Its Defense With New Appointments: Victor Cabral And Tariq Drake
Charlotte Football Head Coach Tim Albin has announced the hiring of Victor Cabral and the elevation of Tariq Drake on his staff ahead of the 2026 season.
Cabral will serve as the Niners’ defensive ends coach, while Drake has been elevated from a defensive analyst to the team’s cornerbacks coach.
“Victor and Tariq are tremendous people that will make a tremendous impact on our staff and our players. Victor has over a decade of experience and has proven results at each place he’s been while Tariq has already had an impact on our team in year one and I’m excited to see him in his expanded role.”
Cabral has almost 20 years of coaching experience and most recently spent the 2024 season at West Virginia. He spent 2023 at App State and also has stops at his alma mater, Georgia Southern, where his defense consistently ranked as some of the best in the Sun Belt. Other stops for Cabral include Samford and Georgia Military College.
Drake spent last year with the 49ers as a defensive analyst, primarily working with Charlotte’s safeties. He spent 2024 as the cornerbacks coach at Division II University of Indianapolis, following a season at Division III Wittenberg.
With Drake assuming the cornerbacks coach role, Tre’ Bell will now oversee all defensive backs, along with retaining his defensive pass game coordinator duties, after Bell served as Charlotte’s cornerbacks coach in 2025.