By
Denny O'Brien
©2008 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
Billy Godwin hasn’t
enjoyed the smoothest seas as East Carolina’s skipper. From the moment
Terry Holland lifted the interim tag from his title, some questioned
Godwin’s ability to lead a program of ECU’s stature.
Some of the criticism has
been fair, some hasn’t.
Much of the cynicism could
be attributed to the fact that Holland didn’t open a national search
after Randy Mazey’s dismissal. Many hoped for a home run hire, the type
of coaching heavyweight to pair with the Pirates’ new facility to build
a perennial power.
Fair enough.
There also is the legacy
of Keith LeClair, and the expectation that anyone who mans the Pirates’
dugout should match or exceed the accomplishments of ECU’s greatest.
Given LeClair’s accomplishments and the glaring disadvantages he faced,
the climate is far more forgiving for building a big-time winner.
At least that’s the
prevailing thought. But, truthfully, it isn’t the case.
Though Godwin has the
grandeur of Clark-LeClair Stadium to which he can recruit, he faces some
serious challenges that have magnified since any of his predecessors
last made a pitching change. From East Carolina’s advancement in
conference membership to the overwhelming improvement of its in-state
rivals, it has become increasingly more difficult to secure a coveted
No. 1 seed and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
For starters, Godwin is
the only ECU coach to experience Rice’s dominant reign over Conference
USA. No longer can the Pirates consider themselves the premier program
in one of the nation’s most respected baseball leagues.
Then there’s the evolution
of North Carolina as one of the nation’s elite and N.C. State’s rise to
Top 25 status. For years neither the Tar Heels nor Wolfpack were viewed
as a major threat to the Pirates’ diamond dreams, but both have emerged
as difficult obstacles in ECU’s path to Omaha. Their success has
presented a challenge both on the recruiting trail and in the Pirates’
quest to host an NCAA Regional.
This goes without
mentioning the less-than-ideal circumstances under which Godwin was
hired. It occurred at a time that, while East Carolina was
well-respected nationally, many of the internal details of the program
were being neglected.
There were rumblings of
moral erosion from the program’s leadership, and the overall team
chemistry was a serious issue. To suggest that Godwin’s initial role
emphasized sanitation is an understatement.
Despite the questions
about his hiring and the criticisms he’s endured, there is no denying
that Godwin has advanced the program since he inherited it. When you
consider where East Carolina was when Holland removed Mazey and where it
is now, Godwin deserves credit for completely overhauling the Pirates’
image.
And he’s done so while
improving ECU’s competitive profile.
From his inaugural season
to now, there has been a steady climb from missing the postseason to
making it to the championship of an NCAA Regional. That’s only one step
shy of the program’s peak – NCAA Super Regional berths in 2001 and 2004.
Yet many will perceive
Godwin based solely on the Pirates’
loss to Coastal Carolina last night. Placing increased emphasis on
the most recent performance seems to be the protocol whenever some have
uncertainty about a coach.
That certainly was the
case at one point in Elliot Avent’s tenure at State, when fans often
appealed for his dismissal after almost every loss. It’s a good thing
for the Wolfpack that the administration didn’t listen to those emphatic
pleas.
Godwin hasn’t quite
experienced that sort of outcry, nor should he. For the first time since
LeClair was in charge, East Carolina’s program is on stable footing.
