Bronco fans, I come in peace! I just want to start by saying that I have a great deal of respect for your school, football team, fans, and your stadium. Waldo Stadium looks like it’d be a heck of a fun place to spend a Saturday afternoon in the Fall! This North Carolinian isn’t built for the cold, though. It got down to 31 this weekend and I felt like I was going to die!
As you all have probably heard, we fired our coach last week. ECU fans, alumni, and former players nation-wide were in disbelief when the announcement was made. We loved Ruff, mostly because he was a Pirate. East Carolina University is Ruff’s alma mater, and ECU, while a stepping stone job for P5-seeking coaches, was NOT a stepping stone job for Ruff. He called it a “destination job.” He’s probably the only coach in college football that would turn down Alabama if they came calling. But sadly, the results on the field didn’t match the love and adoration from the fans, and our AD (former NIU AD, Jeff Compher) made the tough decision to let Ruff go, and here we are… looking for a new captain of the Pirate ship.
Some potential candidates have been named. A couple guys have reached out to ECU expressing interest (Shane Beamer, Shawn Elliot, Doug Meachem), and ECU has also reached out to a few guys that are possibly a bit more intriguing.
It would appear, that in Pirate circles, PJ Fleck is consistently the guy that Pirate fans want at the helm. I also have heard (unofficially) that ECU has reached out to Fleck to gauge his interest. I understand WMU recently gave him a raise, and is willing to throw even more money his way. Rightfully so, as he’s done a tremendous job reviving your program. It’s my understanding that ECU is prepared to offer somewhere in the neighborhood of $2M to the next head coach. (Ruff was making around $1.4M) But since signing a $16.5M deal with Adidas, it has freed up a lot of cash in that department. I didn’t know this, but apparently PJ and Jeff Compher have a NIU connection from their time there.
ECU fans definitely know what it is like to have a coach that is constantly the subject of rumors… Skip Holtz interviewed/turned down interviews for 3 of his 5 years at ECU before bolting to USF for big-time money. It’s frustrating, and our fanbase became very defensive every time his name was brought up. At the end of the day, it means that he’s doing something right, at least.
The coaching carousel is a crazy thing… I personally think we made our move too late. You might see ECU fans from time to time dropping by here as time goes by.. just go easy on them. We’re all nervous/anxious to see if our AD is going to hit a home run, or set back our program 5-7 years. Only time will tell.
Best of luck in your bowl game! Row the boat! (Am I allowed to say that?)