East Carolina is parting ways with head coach Mike Houston.
Houston was in his sixth season as the head Pirate.
The Pirates are 3-4 on the season with encouraging wins over Old Dominion and UTSA; but last week's stinging loss at Charlotte was impactful.
The University made the decision official this morning following yesterday's loss at Army.
Director of athletics Jon Gilbert offered, "After a comprehensive evaluation of our football program, I informed this morning that we are making a change in leadership. 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."
Houston was hired by ECU after three highly successful seasons at James Madison which included a national championship in his first season there.
His first two seasons at ECU he steadied the ship. In 2021 & 2022 he led them to their best seasons since 2014 with 7 wins 8 wins respectively; however in this age of NIL, the transfer portal and ever evolving rosters, ECU has struggled to compete these past two seasons winning just two games in 2023.
Houston was under contract through the 2026 season. He earned approximately $2.3 million per year.
Defensive coordinator Blake Harrell will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
More coming on this breaking news...