REPORT: East Carolina To Promote Blake Harrell To Head Coach

Kevin Barral | Nov 25, 2024

Oct 22, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of the East Carolina Pirates logo on a helmet on the sidelines at Nippert Stadium. The Bearcats won 31-19. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Following the firing of head coach Mike Houston, East Carolina appointed defensive coordinator Blake Harrell the interim head coach. After going 4-0 and leading the Pirates to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2022, East Carolina will remove the interim tag and name him the head coach, per multiple outlets.

SOURCE: East Carolina is planning to promote interim coach Blake Harrell to the full-time job, pending board approval, @TheAthletic has learned.

Harrell is 4-0 as interim head coach after taking over for Mike Houston. Players this weekend began calling for him to get the job.

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 25, 2024

Since becoming interim head coach, Harrell has led the Pirates to wins over Temple, FAU, Tulsa, and North Texas/

Harrell joined the Pirates staff in 2020 as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. This will be the first time that Harrell will be a full-time head coach at any level.

On the defensive side of the ball, Harrell's team is eighth in the AAC total defense. The Pirates' defense has stopped the run well, surrendering 156.5 rushing yards per game, which is fifth in the conference. Improvements still need to be made to stop the passing game, ranking ninth in the American Athletic Conference.

Offensively, ECU is fourth in total offense. Most of their success on that side of the ball has come through the passing game, ranking third in the AAC and on the ground, ranking eighth in the conference.

East Carolina will finish the season at home against Navy. The game will be on Friday, November 29 at 12:00 pm. The game can be streamed on ESPN.

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