The East Carolina Pirates are officially looking for a new ECU football coach after Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert announced that head coach Mike Houston had been fired. Gilbert’s decision came after East Carolina lost to No. 23 Army by 17 points, falling to 3-4 on the season. Houston finished his five-plus seasons at East Carolina with a 27-38 record, including a 15-28 mark in conference play. Defensive coordinator Blake Harrell has been named the interim head coach for the final five games of the season.
Houston led East Carolina to back-to-back bowl appearances in 2021 and 2022, but the Pirates went 2-10 last year, finishing at the bottom of the American Athletic Conference. They have not won at least nine games in a season since 2013, when they were a member of Conference USA. If you love the Pirates, or just want to know who will call the shots for ECU football in the future, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at HoistTheColours, the 247Sports affiliate that covers East Carolina.
HoistTheColours’ ECU insiders are providing on-the-ground updates on every development surrounding Houston’s firing and the future of the ECU football program, including insights from Stephen Igoe, who has deep-rooted ties inside and around the ECU community, as well as analysis from national analysts such as Brad Crawford. Get all the inside scoop on the football program, plus VIP intel on ECU football, basketball, recruiting and more, as well as access to the Crow’s Nest VIP forum, where you can connect with other ECU fans and insiders.
And right now, HoistTheColours is offering 50% off annual subscriptions*, so now is the time to sign up. The team at HoistTheColours already has a list out of several potential candidates and there are some surprising names on the list. Head to HoistTheColours now to see them all.
Top East Carolina football coach candidates
One name the staff has identified as a potential target is LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Sloan is reportedly wanting to become a head coach for the first time in his career, and East Carolina would be a perfect fit. He was a backup quarterback for the Pirates from 2005-08 and was born in Virginia, so he has ties to the school and area.
Sloan began his coaching career at South Florida in 2010 before moving to Louisiana Tech in 2013, where he started as a wide receivers coach and ultimately finished as the offensive coordinator in 2020-21. He was then hired by LSU to coach the team’s quarterbacks in 2022 and was promoted to offensive coordinator prior to this season. This would be an ideal opportunity to become a Group of Five head coach, especially since it is his alma mater. See more candidates at HoistTheColours.
How to get insider ECU coaching staff search updates
The rest of the list includes several other coaches with ties to ECU, including an NFL assistant and another program legend. You can only see who they are at HoistTheColours.
Who are the top names in the ECU football coaching search, and what program legend could return? Go to HoistTheColours to see their ECU coaching hot board and more, all from a team of ECU and college football insiders, and find out.
And reminder, HoistTheColours is offering 50% off an annual VIP membership as a coaching search special, so subscribe now before it’s too late.
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