Eastern Carolina University (ECU) has fired head football coach Mike Houston, just a day after a disheartening 45-28 defeat at the hands of Army.
On Sunday, ECU‘s Director of Athletics, Jon Gilbert, made the announcement, stating, “we have not seen the results we all want and a change is needed to move the program forward.” He said that he had a conversation with Houston before making the announcement to inform him of the leadership change.
While the exact reasons for Houston‘s dismissal remain murky, it’s clear that Saturday’s game left many feeling quite “upset.”
“After a comprehensive evaluation of our football program, I informed Mike Houston this morning that we are making a change in leadership,” said Gilbert. “This was a very difficult decision. Mike has led our program the last five plus seasons with tremendous class and has positively impacted so many student-athletes. After earning back-to-back bowl invitations, we looked poised for continued success. Unfortunately, we have not seen the results we all want, and a change is needed to move the program forward. We have high expectations and those are not changing.”
Gilbert expressed that they are confident that the football program will “identify the right leader” and called on fans to “rally around our student-athletes.”Â
“We are confident we will identify the right leader for our football program. I believe ECU is a premier job with a passionate fan base, unprecedented support from our Pirate Club donors, and great facilities that continue to improve. Right now, we are focusing on our student-athletes as they compete for a postseason opportunity in the final five regular season games. My hope is Pirate Nation will rally around our student-athletes like they have always done.”
For now, defensive coordinator Blake Harrell will step in as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
