The Charlotte 49ers have announced the hiring of Jim Durning as Strength and Conditioning Coach for Football. Durning has spent the last 13 years directing the strength and conditioning program at James Madison.  

"Jim's been ultra-successfiul as a strength coach at James Madison University," 49ers head football coach Brad Lambert said. "They've been very successful and the strength program plays a huge role in that. It's the most important room you have in building strength, speed and toughness. The results you have in the weight room are such a big factor in the success you have on the field."  

Durning, a graduate of Marshall who captainned the Thundering Herd's 1992 National Championship team, was a strength coach at Georgia before joining coach Mickey Matthews at JMU. He got his start as a graduate assistant at Marshall from 1994-96, including their 1995 national finalist season. Georgia appeared in two bowl games during his time there.  

"He was at the University of Georgia when I was there so I know what type of program he's going to run and how he'll treat our student-athletes," Lambert added. "I've gotten to see him evolve as a player and now through the profession as an assistant to running a successful program for several years. He has expereince going through the process of building and moving in to a new facility. He brings a lot of experience running his own program and that's some thing that we wanted. We targeted Jim early and we're fortunate to get him."  

During his time at James Madison, he helped the Dukes to six FCS playoff appearances including the 2004 National championship run and a trip to the 2008 National Semifinals. James Madison posted a 96-61 record in his 13 years, there.