GREENVILLE — The search for East Carolina’s next football coach will be closing as Blake Harrell will have his interim status removed, according to ESPN.
Harrell took over for Mike Houston on Oct. 20 and has energized a 4-0 run going into a noon kickoff against Navy at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Friday.
The Pirates are 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the American Athletic Conference with consecutive wins over Temple, Florida Atlantic, Tulsa and North Texas.
ECU trailed North Texas, 21-0, late in the first half Saturday before rallying for a 40-28 road win.
Harrell joined the Pirates in 2020 as defensive coordinator and has continued with those duties as interim coach.
He has shortened practices and developed winning momentum within the program.
The ECU Board of Trustees is expected to approve a contract for Harrell this week, according to reports.
It’s inarguable that Harrell has made a case for himself in a hurry, BUT this feels premature. What if the Pirates get toasted in their last two games? My quibble is based on a full perspective here; out of 134 FBS programs, the overall average current ranking of the 4 teams that ECU has beaten in their current streak is 116.
This is NOT to take anything away from the man; the program certainly has a refreshingly new, competitive look and feel, but still… I could see them naming him if the Pirates get the dub this Fri.; they’re actually slightly favored at home, so apparently people beyond Greenville are starting to take notice.
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We have to deal with the reality in front of us. Anybody but Blake means a complete overhaul of the roster which means throwing away next year. With a possibility that the other choice is a mistake. We have seen Blake and JDB win games. We have a quarterback that can play who won’t be here if Blake and JDB are not. Blake and his staff have both recruited and transfer portaled as good a defense as we have had at East Carolina (I started watching in 1979). I believe offense players will come play for JDB and when he leaves, if he is successful, we will be able to get another good OC.
There are no guarantees in college football anymore. In 5 years, the Sunbelt could be a better conference than AAC or ACC with the ACC being third of those 3. Or East Carolina could be in an ACC that is behind the Sunbelt. This is a good decision because of the strong performance over the last 4 games. I hope everyone will see this decision in a realistic light and support Blake and the team.
Don’t disagree with Irish or with Reason, as both takes have merit. Is there an easy, sure way forward… no. I’m not sure Harrell is “THE ONE”. But he might be the glue which can keep the program together. He’s got a ton of energy. He has managed to piece together a decent defense using some young guys who have had to step up far too soon.
Also, he was smart enough not to jump into JDB’s lane when given the interim title. Rather, he simply told Baker to keep gettin’ after it. So far, so good. Navy should be a better yardstick by which to judge just how far the Pirates have come as a team. For sure, Harrell has them playing hard. Most importantly, they clearly are believing the gospel according to Blake.
If it is true about Coach Harrell, the Pirates could do far worse. The 2024 Pirates could have fallen apart completely following the firing of Coach Houston. Both Harrell and Baker deserve high marks setting the proper tone, and keeping the passion high.
Minus Army, the average of our other 3 losses was 92, and our worst performance was against 110 CHAR. NAVY is 49th and you would assume with a win our bowl opponent will be in top 60, so next two games will be a good preview of what the Pirates foundation for next season will be. The Navy game would have been an unfair requirement for Harrell considering the Pirates have never beaten Navy in Greenville. Hopefully the new/continued staff can take the program to the next level like Dabbo did when he took over Clemson. Not expecting National Championships with the comparison; would just like other schools to be fearful of scheduling the Pirates again. We have become to many opponents’ choice for homecoming.