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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
By Brian Bailey |
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'Family' ties bind
Ruff regime
By
Brian Bailey
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Ruffin McNeill |
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John Wiley |
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Lincoln Riley |
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(Photos: ECU SID) |
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I had a chance to see
new East Carolina
football coach Ruffin
McNeill before Sunday’s
baseball game at East
Carolina. I met the new
first lady of Pirate
football, Coach
McNeill’s wife, Erlene.
Coach McNeill certainly
outkicked the coverage
as they say.
On Monday, McNeill
introduced his other
“family,” his coaching
staff that is now
complete.
McNeill takes family
seriously. His team is a
family and he genuinely
loves the men he brought
in to help him move this
program forward.
“The main reason I
brought them here is
because of the trust
factor,” said McNeill.
“I trust them. I
verified their trust
through either coaching
or playing with them.
Some of these guys have
been with me through
some tough and trying
times.”
There will be other
trying times for sure.
McNeill, though, has the
staff to get through the
process of continuing
the championship
tradition of Pirate
football.
“I like the way they
recruit. I like their
knowledge. They are good
men. Our kids our going
to love them,” said
McNeill.
If there has been a
criticism, it’s been
about the age of some of
the new coaches. Lincoln
Riley is just 26 years
old but considered a
whiz kid in coaching the
Texas Tech style of
offense.
“The age factor has been
brought up,”
acknowledged McNeill.
“That doesn’t bother me
as much as it seems to
bother other people. I
like the way they coach
and I like the
experience that they
bring to our program.”
Monday’s luncheon was a
chance for all of us in
the media to meet each
of the new coaches. As a
group I was most
impressed with what they
had to say about their
boss, Ruffin McNeill.
“He’s a great man,” said
Riley, who was McNeill’s
first hire after taking
over for Skip Holtz at
East Carolina. “He’s a
great person. He’s
somebody that I know,
when he makes decisions,
he’ll make them with me,
my family and the other
coaches’ families in
mind.”
Associate head coach
John Wiley agreed. He
left Appalachian State
after 20 years to join
McNeill at ECU.
“He’s why I came,” said
Wiley. “That coupled
with the fact that this
is a great fit for my
family. The fan base is
great here. I saw that
when we played ECU to
start the season. My
wife’s family is from
Raleigh. All of the
pieces just fell in
place together. But
Coach Mac (McNeill) was
the biggest reason.”
Lincoln Riley didn’t
hesitate when he first
got the call from
McNeill. It’s all
because of the character
of the coach.
“He’s a person that
knows everybody and you
can never find one
person who would say a
bad thing about him. In
today’s world, that’s
rare. He’s a special
person and a special
coach,” said Riley.
“We went through some
tough times in the bowl
game this year," Riley
added. "We’re 1-0
together so we want to
keep that streak alive.”
With McNeill at the helm
as interim head coach,
Texas Tech beat Michigan
State in the Alamo Bowl
after the firing of Red
Raiders coach Mike
Leach.
McNeill and Riley will
get their chance to
build on that 1-0 streak
come September.
BB
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