The Mike Houston football coaching era ended on Oct. 20, but his influence remains as East Carolina heads to Annapolis for the Military Bowl against N.C. State on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. (ESPN).

Houston was ultimately responsible for bringing in all of the players that will comprise the ECU contingent. New coach Blake Harrell has produced an attitude makeover that resulted in a 4-game winning streak and bowl eligibility.

Houston’s style of recruiting and developing players that had worked successfully at Lenoir-Rhyne, The Citadel, James Madison and to a degree, at East Carolina, was overtaken in the era of immediate eligibility for transfers and NIL money.

Still, it was under Houston’s watch that Katin Houser arrived from Michigan State and gave the Pirates their most effective passing game of the three quarterbacks who had gotten starts since Holton Ahlers bowed out with a 53-29 win over Coastal Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl to complete the 2022 season.

Houston had the vision to see the potential of John David Baker as offensive coordinator. Baker got in the portal and brought in Jake Garcia from Miami/Missouri and Houser to orchestrate the up tempo offense he had worked with at Ole Miss.

That hire came after a string of disastrous offensive performances when the 2023 team went 2-10.

Houston was on shaky ground after that step back from an 8-5 season the year before.

Frustration began building with a 21-19 home loss to Appalachian State on Sept. 14 after ECU had jumped out to a 16-0 lead. Houston did not have a win against an in-state Football Bowl Subdivision program in five-plus seasons.

The same pattern emerged the following week in a weather-delayed contest at Liberty when the Pirates had a 17-0 advantage turn into a 35-24 defeat.

ECU got off to a good start in the American Athletic Conference with a 30-20 win over Texas-San Antonio at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Sept. 28.

Discontent surged among Pirate Nation with a 55-24 AAC loss at Charlotte on Oct. 5.

During a bye week before taking on unbeaten Army, the starting quarterback role was given to Houser. With extra time to prepare for the Cadets at West Point, the frustration of a 31-0 deficit early in the second half spelled the end of the Houston era.

Harrell, the defensive coordinator, took over on an interim basis. His term began with one-sided wins at home over Temple and Florida Atlantic.

A national television audience on ESPN saw a 38-31 win at Tulsa as Rahjai Harris had fourth quarter scoring runs of 23 and 24 yards. Harris has come back from knee surgery to run for 946 yards thus far this season. Houston helped Harris find his confidence again during the rehab process.

Isaiah Brown-Murray made a game-saving fourth down stop on 4th-and-goal to preserve the triumph over the Golden Hurricane.

On Nov. 23, the Pirates faced a 21-0 deficit at North Texas in the second quarter. Zakye Barker had a pivotal fumble-causing hit in the third quarter during a surge in which ECU came back for a 40-28 victory.

Houston’s dismissal was the first among many coaching changes in the AAC as Rice, Temple, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte and Tulsa have all been involved in leaderships transitions.

The timing of the opening of the transfer portal earlier this month will impact ECU’s pending bowl matchup. Barker and Brown-Murray are among those who won ‘t be on hand.

Absences for the Wolfpack include former defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, who is the new coach at Marshall, and premier wide receiver K. C. Concepcion, who may wind up at North Carolina.

Baker will match wits with interim defensive coordinator Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay of State, who has no doubt reviewed tape of the Pirates’ 34-20 loss to visiting Navy to end the regular season.

Harrell has been putting his stamp on the program with several hires since the loss to the Midshipmen. Primary among those are the addition of defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge from Auburn and strength coach Mike Sirignano from Rutgers.

New blood with fresh approaches can have a positive impact and Harrell is a prime example, but he is quick to acknowledge Houston’s influence.

Success in today’s game has become increasingly geared to making adjustments in the short term.

In an ideal world, the Pirates can incorporate the best of Houston and Harrell on Saturday.