Tim Cross Brings A Track Record Of Developing NFL Talent To Charlotte Football
Tim Cross has joined the UNC Charlotte Football program as a Senior Defensive Analyst and the defensive line’s Director of Recruiting.
Cross comes to the 49ers with 20-plus years of collegiate coaching experience, including spending the past five seasons leading the defensive line in Chapel Hill. Over that span, Cross has helped develop 56 players for the NFL during stops at North Carolina, Air Force, Texas, Minnesota, and Syracuse.
At North Carolina, Cross most recently developed defensive end Kaimon Rucker who posted 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and earned second-team all-conference honors in 2023. In his second year, Cross’ defensive line tallied 36 sacks, the most for the Tar Heels since 2000, and tied for fifth-most nationally. The scoring defense, total defense, and rushing defense all ranked in the Top 35 nationally of teams that played at least 10 games.
Before Chapel Hill, Cross led the defensive line at Air Force while also serving the final two seasons as the program’s Assistant Head Coach. In 2018, his defensive line helped Air Force rank No. 16 nationally in rushing defense at 119.8 yards per game, and his 2016 group finished No. 10 in the same category at 114.2 yards per game. In 2014, the Falcons improved in scoring, rushing, passing and total defense, including having one of the nation’s most improved scoring defenses with an average of 24.2 points per game, a nearly 16 point-per-game improvement. The defense ranked among the conference leaders in each category in 2015, despite being one of the youngest units in the nation with just one returning starter.
Alex Hansen was a two-time All-Mountain West performer, including a first-team selection in 2015. Jordan Jackson earned second-team honors in 2018, while Ryan Watson led the MW in sacks en route to first-team honors in 2016.
A native of Clarksville, Tenn., Cross attended Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado and got his coaching start in the state at Thomas Jefferson High School where he was able to produce 14 high school All-Americans, 20 all-state selections, and two consecutive Gold Helmet Award winners, awarded to all state players who show success on and off of the field. He was also able to help develop two first-round draft picks while at Thomas Jefferson High School, Andre Woolfolk (Tennessee Titans) and Daniel Graham (New England Patriots).
Following his time in Colorado, Cross led the defensive lines at Syracuse (2005-06) and Minnesota (2007-10) where he also served as the Associate Head Coach.