ECU fires football head coach Mike Houston

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – After the loss to Army, Mike Houston was fired as head football coach at East Carolina University.

ECU athletics director Jon Gilbert made the announcement today

“After a comprehensive evaluation of our football program, I informed Mike Houston this morning that we are making a leadership change,” Gilbert said. “It was a very difficult decision. Mike has led our program with tremendous class over the past five-plus seasons, positively impacting so many student-athletes. After receiving back-to-back bowl invitations, we looked poised for continued success. Unfortunately, we have not achieved the desired results and changes are needed to move the program forward. We have high expectations and these do not change.

Defensive coordinator Blake Harrell was named interim coach for the remainder of the season. Harrell has led the defense since 2020.

“We are confident we will find the right leader for our football program. I believe ECU is a first-class job with a passionate fan base, unparalleled support from our Pirate Club donors and great facilities that continue to improve,” Gilbert wrote. “My hope is that Pirate Nation will rally around our student-athletes as they always have. Done.”

ECU is 27-38 (.415) under Houston since he took the job in 2019. The team went 2-10 last year and is currently 3-4 after suffering heavy losses in their last two games.

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