From the beginning, Montgomery should have seen the O line and D line was very weak. That never seemed to be addressed. We're should start there and get the proper foundation for winning first. We need to address our budget as well. Seems almost everyone in the AAC had a larger budget than we do. As for talent, David Garrard said this past summer that our receiving corps was as good as he's seen at ECU. He also said our QBs would have to run for their lives to last a season. We're not gonna out recruit ACC schools in our state until we win, and the best talent usually goes out of state. Be patient and let's rack up some wins and create depth in the trenches with talent there first and the rest will fall in line. We also need to concentrate on the AAC and win there before worrying about the rest of the schedule (fans especially).

This years class only has one player in the top 50 in NC (Freshwater). So I am really skeptical of the talent level he has recruited......sure ECU has always been a program that recruited lesser known players and developed them into stars, that's been our bread and butter for years. But its getting harder and harder to win in the AAC with mostly 2 star recruits with a sprinkling of 3 star guys. As a life long Pirate fan. We have to do a better job of keeping some the best talent in eastern NC home. One guy in the top 50 is not getting that done.

Are we really sure he is inheriting a lot of talent? A lot of the players expressing remorse at Montgomery being fired, mention he was their only chance at playing at D1. The results this year were not only due to bad coaching. I do like that he has a recruiting base that is close to ECU already. I do expect a fairly quick turnaround.

If the articles are true we now have a “Real Deal” Coach in Houston. Also we have an AD that Dave Hart has a deep relationship with and I’m sure approved of the Houston hire in his talks with Hart. Things in one day have gone from murky to much clearer. Which is very exciting. I know there is much work to do but I think this is the type of hire and day that we could look back on as a game changer. Ahlers is our future and will now get the attention and development he deserves. I truly believe we have better players than we think. Also think the recruits we have will recognize this as a great hire for the University and for them. It’s a good day to be a Pirate after a three year funk. GO PIRATES!!!!!!

Do keep in mind that Dave Doeren has not started a quarterback that he recruited as a freshman during his entire tenure at NCSU. All have transferred in as upperclassmen, including the quarterback that is currently projected as starter for next year. NCSU has also had several OC's to go with the different quarterbacks, as is with the current OC-quarterback package that both came from the same school, and results have been mixed. We may be able to question if NCSU can actually "develop" a quarterback, but there is no question that the programs are currently moving in opposite directions. Supportive AD, no AD. Coach that made it through the struggle, coach fired during the struggle. Fans at cold rainy game, few fans on a warm sunny day! We can change direction by starting with getting rid of this wasteful rebranding effort to be called ECU. We are already known as ECU, but be proud, and supportive of East Carolina University!

Ahlers would have been great at NCSU. It would have been a perfect opportunity for him to be developed properly around players of his ilk with solid coaching. He would definitely have had a redshirt year and would likely start next year. I am glad he chose ECU for selfish reasons, but under our current circumstances, If I were his father, I would have encouraged a different choice. When I saw him on the sidelines yesterday, I could not help but wonder if anything like that flashed through his mind.

ECU is fortunate that Holton Ahlers is a homeboy; otherwise, he too would probably be a fight risk, and who could blame him? Hopefully Verity stays, and hopefully they get another year of eligibility for Harvey. Speaking of Ahlers' future, whoever's the next guy sure as hell first and foremost better be thinking about that OL; mercy, what a travesty, though I know injuries had a lot to do with it. ...and the secondary, too, speaking of dumpster fires. ...but after all, and above all, I have to hand it to Garrett McGhin's classy statement about the university after three miserable seasons a reminder that adversity doesn't build character; it defines it.

If you go back to Ruffin's last year, we've had eight QB's since Shane Carden graduated in 2014. Add Blake Kemp, James Summers, and even though he never made a start for us, Kurt Benkert, who transferred to UVa, when Scottie decided to go with Nelson after his first spring practice. That's nine in the mix since Shane. You can't win if you don't have consistency at the QB position. I hope our next coach builds his team and offensive philosophy around Ahlers abilities. Go Pirates, Kirk Edgerton

Also, I wonder if we could sell "the house that Cecil built" after he pulls the ripcord on his golden parachute? We could use the profits to pay off some of debt he created. And perhaps next time, we could find someone to run the University who won't be embarrassed to live in that lovely house on 5th street.

ECU's administration provided the fuel for the dumpster-fire that Compher lit on the way to the bank to pick up his $1.2 mil check. Scottie can also buy a lot of marshmallows to roast with his $800K. I wonder where old Staton is at with his $500 million dollar campaign? Apparently not far enough not to pass on the balance of his incompetence to the students. I hope that the business school is utilizing this administrations exploits as a teaching tool of what not to do. It seems that my Alma Mater has strayed from its roots by hiring outsiders who know little of the schools history or the demographics of the population it serves. I think of Coach Jerry Moore, after being asked about the prospect of App St. moving up to D1a , who said something like, "Bigger is not better. 'Better' is better." In my opinion, our problems on the football field go way beyond athletics and after this humbling experience, I hope we can all get some perspective and focus back to our motto of service and get 'better'.

Here's the bottom line: You can't keep a guy who goes 3-9 for three consecutive years. He should have been out after last season. And it's not just the record, the team is bad. ECU is in a big boy conference and we have to compete. Look, Scottie is a good guy but the situation just couldn't continue. We used to lead the non power five school in attendance and now the place is empty

Fool's gold! Read all of the stats and multiple 50 plus scoring drives by opponents. Improved, but like he will even admit, it's just a start. There's still a long way to go, but I hope we handle these transitions better in the future.

...unless, of course, they end up naming Blackwell as permanent. ...don't know how well he recruits, but he has definitely improved the defense.

Maybe you've never seen the program at such a low point, but man, read this article, and it sounds like there are presently a MASSIVE number of unknowns and tons of fragility that could definitely lead to things getting worse. It's pretty clear that Blackwell sees the timing of the announcement as being horrendous. ...but at the same time, he implies that it was due to the potential of leaks, which of course leads to the question of why the administration couldn't have waited one more week to decide in the first place. ...but what blows me away the most is a quote I read to the effect that a new coach won't be hired until the AD is hired. I get that, but wow; maybe they should just mail in the 2019 season now, and be done with it. There's no question why this decision was made, but my definite opinion is that, given the serious athletic dept. infrastructural issues presently afoot, the Pirates should've left Mo in place one more year, and let his decent recruiting endeavors continue to yield dividends. Now, those are likely out the window along with Mo. They should have much more stability next year, and therefore much more freedom to do whatever they want to with the head coaching position, with less collateral damage.

He was way over his head and should never have been hired. Ive never seen the program at such a low point. It will take extreme sacrifice and hard work to get the program revived to any sort of competitive nature. If anyone is to blame it’s Jeff Compher. He’s laughing all the way to the bank and he to was a bad hire for ECU athletics as a whole.