exactly!

The decision is hard one but all the needed evidence is plain to see. In fact one aspect not many people realize is that the cupboard was not that bare when he got here. Benkert our QB who got hurt Ruff’s final year (if he hadn’t we would have had a winning record that year for sure) was to be the starting QB but transferred to UVA and had a stellar career there. He ended up being one of the best qb’s in the ACC and is on the Falcons practice squad right now. If Montgomery was as visionary and such a great offensive mind Benkert would have stayed but he didn’t. The next great example of not getting the most out of the talent you have and more importantly not developing QB’s is Minshew. Minshew transferred from ECU just this year. After a good but not great year with us in 2017. Guess what? He is now leading the country in about three passing statistics for Washington State and is considered a top prospect for the NFL. Once again if Montgomery or our OC were motivators good QB’s wouldn’t leave back to back. We can all agree that Ahlers is a special QB and deserves to have a great coach to develop him into the best version if himself he can be. Montgomery is not that guy. Actually all of the evidence suggests he is the opposite of that guy. It’s like Ruff used to say about his players when they got in trouble. I love my players but I love ECU more. So I love my coach Montgomery but I love ECU more. He’s got to go.

I say "Keep Coach Mo" and get an AD in place for 2019. There is too much talent in the pipeline to make a change too soon and risk draining the pipeline. Tulane should have been beaten and so should Memphis. Injury and inexperience have taken a toll on 2018. But 2019 is the make or break a .500 record will get you in a bowl and we need to get there in 2019. Let Kansas and Louisville panic. Mo deserves an opportunity with Compher gone. I'll be there vs UCONN. Go Pirates!

It's undeniable that effectively Coach is a lame duck from a recruiting standpoint as we speak; he cannot possibly have any credibility on the recruiting trail, based on his hot seat status. A lot of folks want him gone now, and they have a case. If it were me making the call, I'd wait 'til after the UConn game this Sat., which they sure as hell should win, even on the road. If they don't, I'd suck it up and pull the plug by Mon., and name Blackwell as interim. If they do, I'd announce a vote of confidence for one more year, so he could at least be enabled to recruit. (...and I'd be telling him he sure as hell better be thinking about his OL, first and foremost.) They are getting better, but the OL continues to just kill them, and I know that a couple or three injuries have a lot to do with that, but that's all part of this brutal game that you just have to learn to roll with.

A new AD must be hired before Dec 1st and a new coach must be hired before Dec 18th. I have no reason to believe the Pirates will be improved next season if Montgomery is retained. It should be clear to everyone that adding lacrosse at an annual cost of $800,000 + was a huge mistake by Compher and the BOT. That money is desperately needed to prop up this football program by hiring a proven winning coach with head coaching experience.

1-13 on the road! This is 100% unacceptable. It’s obvious , Coach Mo, can’t get it done. He has to go. ECU used to be #1 in attendance in the American. Now we look like UNC home games. No one is going to the games. We need a new coach fast. It’s a joke we don’t have an AD after 8 months. John Thompson era all over again. Cut bait and move on..

What happened to Blake Proehl? Didn't see much of him; only remember two passes thrown his way and only one reception. This guy is too good to not be playling.

Guy is just full of excuses. City-speed, Ruff's players, yada yada yada. He needs to look in the mirror and self-reflect. He is a bad coach. He has neglected recruiting interior DL and OL and that's the reason we're in the position we're in. Seems his solution is to sign another DB and hope that works. I honestly question if the guy is all there in the head. He's an idiot but by god let's give him another year to turn it around. He is literally JT 2.0, maybe worse.

It's lack of leadership that you have described. We lost to A & T........WE LOST TO A & T! - nuff said. Excuse after excuse. Inept, lost, clueless, come to mind. 3rd year buddy, and without Holton, no real hope in sight as I see it. Recruiting well? Really? Skip and Ruffin both recruited D linemen and O linemen. It all starts and ends there. Look at the last three classes and tell me how many you see? Not feeling inspired from MO - and I'm not alone. Empty seats tell the story.

I personally like coach Mo and think that he will be a great coach someday. Unfortunately that someday is not today. I read this article and it reminds me of the politicians in the mid term elections. He has a good answer for all the problems. The AAC is a better league than we thought it was going to be granted. Most of the rest of the teams have had the same amount of time to prep for the level of competition as we have. Tell that to Scott Frost that turned a 1-11 team in to a winner in two years. Lets not forget that we have been pushing hard for the last four years for the opportunity to step up another level into another league with Comphers silly national campaign to get us into the Big 12. We are certainly not making a very good case for that. A few years ago we were on everyone's radar for conference expansion. Now we are on no ones! Injuries.... I guess that's the default excuse that any and all teams use when they underachieve in all levels of football. After the first snap of the season, no team is 100% at anytime again until next year and not even then because of spring ball etc...... Depth and preparation is the answer and all teams are in the same boat here. "The average fan is incapable of seeing the improvement". If you say so. If the improvement we are looking to sell is that we gave up 70 points to a better Memphis team last year and only 59 points this year to a lessor Memphis team, then I for one can follow that bouncing ball. The Pirate Nation is not very well suited for the type of slow, "wait and see" improvement that coach Mo touts. Why? because we shouldn't be! We have always played with heart and determination. That's whats lacking from this program right now. I could sum it up with the description of one play earlier this year. I wished that I could remember the details better for this example but here goes..... Third and long.... an out pass to the right side of the field..... player turns downfield and gets close to the sticks and tip toes out of bounds. The Ref spots the ball a little short. Coach Mo erupts with a level of passion previously never witnessed protesting the spot. He was out of his mind with passion!! All good and the Referee's conferred and Mo was right. They gave us a better spot and the first down! The problem is that the emotional reaction should have been at the player tip toeing out of bounds! Put your foot in the ground, lower your pads, and GET THE FIRST DOWN!!! As a result of that culture we see coach Mo doing a lot of impassioned protests to the officials. You never win games that way! Heart and determination is how you win games and especially at East Carolina! Never underestimate the power of the made up mind!! Coach Mo...... I beg you..... Quit protesting calls and start asking your players to reach down and find the determination. These players all came to ECU because they have that IT factor, that chip! Help them find it again! Stop speaking about the incremental wins like "we only gave up 59 points to Memphis this year instead of 70"!. Restore the passion and pride to the players! Stop trying to show your effort by protesting calls to the Refs and lets demand effort and excellence of our players. They all want that. We all want that! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A MADE UP MIND!!!!

Too many of our fans don't want to see these things. Just "Fire Mo" yet they have no solution to starting to win. If your solution starts with "We need Somebody....." then you don't have a solution. I am no expert but Mo makes some great points and Steve Logan himself said last season ECU has a serious lack of talent. Mo has recruited well. Our defense is obviously better although Memphis was not a good game for them. Let's keep pounding as the Panthers say. We are closer than you think. Go Pirates.

Well Said Coach, I agree!

Not a big BB fan, but very happy to have coach Dooley back. Also very happy to get an opening win. Confident we have the right man in charge and expect big things down the road. GGOOOO....PPIRATES!!!

Did someone from the White House take the count of the crowd size?

I did