...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.

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.

Best of luck to Coach Mo. He is a good man and did his best but he was not ready to be a head coach at this level......our program has hit bottom now and all the fans can hope is we make a great hire and give him the support he needs to get this proud program moving forward again.

Jack: Brett Friedlander filed a story with updates on this afternoon's developments earlier this evening. Logistical issues on my end were the reason something wasn't posted earlier. We are also going to adopt a more active Twitter regimen (@bonesville) to facilitate the posting of more frequent blurbs on this and other topics as warranted. — Danny Whitford, Editor

Scottie Montgomery was fired earlier today and it's 3 pm and I don't see a word about it here. Do you folks update this site?

It's time for Coach Mo to peace out of Greenville with his 4-20 AAC record. Get the struttin' Scottie!

"Their quarterback position is as accurate as anyone we’ve gone against and their receivers are as talented as anybody we’ve gone against." If that's even REMOTELY true, the Pirates are in for another LONG afternoon, whose only biggest weakness other than the 2ndary is the OL. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln...

Well, We could have beaten NC A&T, South Florida and Tulane and we'd be bowl bound. Really the college football system as it is with "Power Five" and the "Playoff" makes getting a bowl that is meaningful almost impossible. Attendance figures in college football are down across the country as a result.

For those who never played football at the HS or college level its hard to understand as an average fan what players are really going through in a game or season. During another poor season and with a program like ours which is tanking, the physical beating you take being on the bottom end of weekly butt kickings not only takes you down physically but mentally and emotionally. Football is a game of power and control and winning individual battles. You win generally by being better in the lines and physically dominating the player opposite you. This is the only way you can then win as a team. We are consistently getting beaten all over the field on both sides of the ball. Right now we are a weak football team in all phase of the game including coaching and athletic administration. Nothing less than a major change will help get this proud program moving in the right direction.

Anecdotally, it definitely seems to me that injury timeouts are way more skewed toward the Pirates than the opposition; I don't believe I'm just imagining that.

What is the deal with our players looking weak, tired, slow and in some cases out of shape? Am I the only one that feels this way?

Well said. As far as the football program goes the smart move may be to hang tight until we have the proper players on board in the hierarchy.

Don't forget the Chancellors boss, Margaret Spellings, has resigned after just 2 years, I think effective Jan 1. So, I'm thinking the UNC Board has to hire her replacement, then Staton, then AD, then any changes. SHEESH! But, no problem. We were there when we broke the countrys' longest losing streak in the mid 80's. We were there during John Thompson. Now, after 3 degrees from ECU with our children, we have been taking our grandsons to home games. These are mostly 18-24 year old guys playing a game. Sure, we take wins and loses seriously. But that isn't the only reason we go. This is our school, where we met and started our lives. We get to see friends and make new ones. We look forward to taking our grandsons to their first basketball game since we bought season tix this year. Hang in there Pirate Fans! I guarantee it will get better.