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Ruffin McNeill joins
in on the ECU fight
song in front of the
Boneyard section at
Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium last fall
after
a win over
Connecticut.
(W.A. Myatt photo) |
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BASKETBALL |
Lefties lead ECU |
GREENVILLE —
Left-handed scoring powered East
Carolina past South Carolina-Upstate
82-71 in Williams Arena at Minges
Coliseum on Friday night.
Sophomore B.J. Tyson led the way
with a career-high 26 points.
Freshman Kentrell Barkley had 18
points and junior Caleb White
rounded out the southpaw assault
with 13 points.
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Next: ECU at
College of Charleston | Monday, 7 pm |
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BASKETBALL |
Pirates start fast, finish strong |
GREENVILLE —
East Carolina never trailed in a
74-48 nonconference win over Florida
Atlantic on Tuesday night. A
3-pointer by Caleb White put the
Pirates ahead 5-2 with 16 minutes
left in the first half and ECU (4-3)
led the rest of the way.
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Another Senior Day heartbreaker |

GREENVILLE — Cincinnati
provided some unwanted deja vu
as East Carolina was trying to
nail down a bowl bid and send
its seniors out in style
Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium. For the second straight
year, a play as time expired was
the difference maker in a loss
on Senior Day for the Pirates.
Andrew Gantz was once again a
villain for ECU. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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Audio: Ruff post-game |
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 ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
after the Pirates' loss
to Cincinnati (recorded
by Al Myatt; file
photo):
Select audio clip... |
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By
Al Myatt
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
UPDATED 12.05.15 | 12:02 AM
As head football coach at his alma mater, Ruffin McNeill avoided
treating the position as though he were Chief Executive Officer of a
business. McNeill favored a family model. He was daddy. The players were
his sons. The assistant coaches and coordinators were uncles.
McNeill's abrupt dismissal Friday after an injury-plagued 5-7 season was
a reminder that big-time college athletics is indeed a business.
With fan support seemingly wavering, East Carolina athletic director
Jeff Compher will go forward with a coach of his choosing, a tough
decision that could have implications for his own career as Steve
Ballard is on his way out as chancellor at ECU at the conclusion of the
current school year.
Compher may be evaluated on his football hire quickly as a new
administration takes over.
That's the wild card in the entire dynamic. Who will be the next
chancellor and what will be their degree of interest and involvement in
the athletic realm?
In this day and time, especially at ECU, football is a huge player in
the higher education picture.
Ballard has an athletic background as a former shortstop on a College
World Series team at Arizona. He has been an active supporter of the
football program. He was seen getting off the south side elevator at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium with American Athletic Conference commissioner
Mike Aresco during the Cincinnati game in Greenville last Saturday.
The Pirates were leading 10-0 at the time.
Had ECU maintained the advantage, the Pirates would be going to a bowl
and the news of McNeill's departure would not have resounded nationally
six days later.
What if ECU had converted a third-and-two at its 35 on its last
possession of the six-year McNeill coaching era with the score tied at
16 late in the fourth quarter?
What if Travon Simmons had been able to pick off a pass that appeared to
go through his hands on the final Bearcats possession that resulted in a
42-yard game-ending field goal by Andrew Gantz?
The sun may have gotten in Simmons' eyes as he turned and looked back
toward the west end of Bagwell Field.
The difference between winning and losing can be that close.
The difference between winning and losing ultimately determines coaches'
longevity.
McNeill finished 42-34 at ECU. His teams were at their best against ACC
opposition. His contract ran through the 2018 season. The
recently-announced deal with adidas may have provided the financial
resources to let him go.
The Pirates lost some tough ones this season. A 24-14
Thursday night defeat by Temple
that took ECU out of realistic contention for the AAC East Division
title appeared to be a blow from which the Pirates never recovered.
There were questions as to why James Summers played exclusively at
quarterback in
a 22-17 loss to South Florida
when the program had apparently been committed to splitting time between
him and Blake Kemp.
Kemp was reinstated the next game, throwing for 456 yards and four
touchdowns in
a 44-7 win over hapless Central Florida.
Then came
the 19-16 loss to Cincinnati
that apparently defined the future for ECU football.
One wonders if the players had known they were playing for their coach's
job if the outcome would have been different.
Compher acknowledged Friday at a news conference on the club level of
the stadium that the decision would not be a popular one. To his credit,
he has the guts to do what he thinks will be in ECU's best interests in
the long run. McNeill went the extra mile to show his appreciation for
coaches, players and fans.
Compher's announcement earlier in the week that the Pirates would not
accept a bowl bid in order to prepare for future championships made
sense in retrospect. If McNeill was staying then the extra practices a
bowl trip would allow would have been the best course of action.
Strength and conditioning assistant athletic director Jeff Connors will
remain on staff and recruiting coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick will be at
ECU for the near term.
There will be a degree of alienation from the players with which the new
coach will have to deal. How a promising recruiting class will hold up
is a cause for concern.
Most anybody in college football will tell you that coaching continuity
is a factor to be valued because when systems change there is inevitably
a teaching process that slows the cycle of repetitions in practice.
Recruiting relationships with high school coaches have to be
re-established.
McNeill exits at a time when some of his peers, Frank Beamer, Steve
Spurrier and George O'Leary, have stepped away, too.
It's definitely a demand on time and energy to run a college football
program. McNeill appeared to be struggling physically to a degree after
two hip replacements.
Perhaps a less-demanding lifestyle will be a blessing for him
personally.
I know he'll miss coaching – miss the bonds and energy of being around
his brothers and sons. There will be a lot of players with diplomas who
will tell you that Ruff was responsible. I'm sorry he couldn't leave on
his terms but that's the nature of the business.
The ball is in Compher's court. He made an excellent hire with Cliff
Godwin as baseball coach.
The situation is similar to Steve Logan's. ECU's winningest coach
(69-58) was dismissed by an AD who didn't hire him after a losing season
(4-8 in 2002). The down year followed the departure of David Garrard at
quarterback.
Coincidentally, Logan's last game at ECU was against Cincinnati, too.
This year, the Pirates were dealing with the exit of Shane Carden at
quarterback and then a season-precluding knee injury to his replacement,
Kurt Benkert.
The loss of three starters on the offensive line to injuries and the
preseason dismissal of another from the front certainly impacted the
effectiveness of that unit.
Some Pirate fans were cringing Friday at the thought of the 3-20 span
that followed the two seasons after Logan left.
The first name to pop into mind for the vacancy would be Lincoln Riley,
who left after five years as offensive coordinator at ECU for the same
responsibilities at Oklahoma. His arrival with the Sooners has
corresponded with a likely berth in the 2015 College Football Playoff.
South Carolina and Memphis are apparently interested in Riley, too.
Riley's respect for McNeill might prevent him from becoming his
replacement.
Compher is expecting lots of applicants.
His man will have to do some healing with the fan base, win the
confidence of the players, prevent a mass defection by the recruiting
class, bring in some quality coordinators and hire capable staff.
The big names on the nonconference portion of the schedule next year
also will be dealing with transitions. South Carolina and Virginia Tech
will have new coaches. N.C. State will have an inexperienced
quarterback.
The Pirates will have a broad and deep quarterback competition this
spring.
It will be interesting to see how things play out in ECU's segment of
the business driven by television revenue.
In TV terms, it's no longer Father Knows Best. That's for sure. It's the
Shark Tank.