Montgomery may eventually become a good or average head coach, and I hope he does. But as a life long Pirate Fan, I have always had a problem with ECU bringing in an untested Assistant Office Coordinator to direct what I felt was a program worthy of a tried and tested head coach. I am not saying someone like Myer or Saban but a mid-major head coach or a successful D-II head coach. I like Montgomery but Ruff has always been a Pirate and would have died a Pirate (not sure of that since our famously inept AD fired him) and he would have gotten the program back on track. I have a hard time firing him after one losing season, but that is in the past. Give Montgomery his one more year and then evaluate him and the AD at the end. My money is on both of them being let go, if they make it that far.

That Memphis bit was complete sarcasm.

Hello Trey YOU totally right we need to worry about all sports but ECU is known for its Football. As a Pirate we need to stay on MO and Compher bc they killed our sports program. You mentioned about MEMPHIS like its a powerhouse football team. Our program is basically starting all over again. its sad moment to be a pirate

Need to lose the chip mentality as well. Win the games you're suppose to and be competitive in the others. Get D1 AAC caliber players rather than any left overs and no need to use a "chip" mentality for motivation. If you have to play with a "chip" then you're already admitting you shouldn't be playing this level..

Hey. Let's not worry about football...you're insane if you think ECU should be competitive with Memphis...just insane. Leave Montgomery alone and Compher too for that matter. Just look at our B Ball team...I mean its basketball season and we have so much to look forward to! While our football team couldn't muster 10 wins, I betting Lebo will bring us 10 wins!

Coach Mo blames everyone but himself........ That's a true leader in my eyes ... WOW

Well said BB

Bowl not likely. What we need are DL's and OL's that can "bowl" over people and on one side, presssure the QB, and on the other side road grade some openings for our backs. Glad we're after speed, but the big need is strong lines play. They're the head that makes the body move.

A leader has to believe in himself in order to lead the individuals around him. Only the entire journey will determine if the leader's belief in himself was founded or not. To be a leader, you have to believe in yourself, and believe in the people around you. Too many people today believe in themselves, but not the people around them, and suffer a miserable life because of it. They are generally employed as critics or give away money and call themselves "fans" when in reality they are obstructionists when the strings attached to the gifts are suddenly unveiled. Go Pirates!

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a good coach. Defense gave up 600 yds game 1 and 600 yds in their last game ...Maybe current leader should take responsibility and not try to blame missed breakfasts at the university dining facility.

What is included in the mention of "science over tradition?" Is Coach Montgomery saying the ECU players are not eating the right foods or have been skipping breakfast? Are they not getting enough strength conditioning? Is this being considered as a reason for a losing season?

This article's focus on ECU avoiding a shutout after a 253-game scoring streak tells it all in terms of how desperate folks are to finds a silver lining. It's hard to argue with Coach's assessment that team speed is sorely lacking, but if you're looking for the biggest single physical problem, the line play is an awfully strong contender. The Pirates' 2018 opener is vs. an FCS opponent that's 11-0 today? Can you say "deja vu"?

"The athletic department faces some budget challenges and there is a contention that Montgomery is safe because ECU couldn’t afford to buy out his contract." When a revenue sport can't fund non-revenue sports maybe ECU should reconsider everything that got it in that position, which happens all the time in the business world but seldom happens in the world of college athletics.

ECU was not just beaten by Memphis, we were totally embarrassed. Reminds me of the days when we first started playing Florida State and they beat us 63 - 0 and 63-6. That was about 1981 &1982. Our football program has worked so hard for so long that it REALLY hurts to see our team sink to this level. At this rate I do not see any hope for 2018 Is this year the bottom or will it be next year?.

Must not have watched the Memphis game fire mo and compher now