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According to multiple reports out of Greenville, NC, East Carolina Football Head Coach Scottie Montgomery has been fired.
Scottie Montgomery is OUT as ECU's head coach following this season. He's informing the team now.
— Stephen Igoe (@StephenIgoe) November 29, 2018
ECU Defensive Coordinator David Blackwell will serve as the interim head coach for ECU in Saturday’s game at NC State.
The firing is, frankly, long overdue. In a shade under three complete seasons, Montgomery put together an overall record of just 9-26, with three of those wins coming over a lowly and destitute UConn program. Two of those losses also came at the hands of FCS competition (James Madison in 2017, NC A&T in 2018). Just as bad as the on-the-field losses were the substantial decreases in football attendance, Pirate Club membership, and overall Pirate Club donations.
The timing of the firing is odd, especially just 48 hours prior to kickoff. The timing of the firing is even more puzzling when you considering that the delay in firing him prevented ECU from getting a run at James Madison Head Coach Mike Houston (who has reportedly agreed to become the next head man at Charlotte), while waiting until Sunday would have dropped Montgomery’s buyout to just $800k (from $1.2M).
Early speculation for a replacement include Clemson co-Offensive Coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott, as well as former Tennessee Head Coach Butch Jones.