East Carolina made its first coaching change of the 2024 season.
The school announced Sunday that Mike Houston had been fired. The Pirates are 3-4 this season after beating Army on Saturday. After a 55-24 loss at ECU Charlotte, the Black Knights followed up with a 45-28 win in one week.
“After evaluating our football program in all aspects, I reported mike houston This morning we are making a change in leadership,” ECU athletic director John Gilbert said in a statement. “It has been a very difficult decision. Mike has led our program for the past five seasons with great class and has been a positive influence on many student-athletes. After receiving repeated invitations, we were set for success. Unfortunately, we have not seen the results we all wanted and the program needs to be changed in the future. Our expectations are high and will not change.
ECU went 27-38 in Houston’s five seasons at the helm. The Pirates had two seasons above .500 and reached the Birmingham Bowl at the end of the 2022 season. The Pirates won that game 53-29 over Coastal Carolina and finished the season 8-5.
Defensive coordinator Blake Harrell was named the team’s interim coach.
However, ECU has won more this year than last season. The Pirates went 2-10 last year and averaged just 17 points per game while their three quarterbacks combined for seven touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Success has been hard to come by in recent seasons. The 2022 Birmingham Bowl appearance was the school’s first bowl game since the 2014 season ended, and ECU’s 7-5 campaign in 2021 was the school’s first winning season in seven years.
