East Carolina will elevate Blake Harrell from interim coach to head coach, several sources reported and athletic director Jon Gilbert confirmed on Monday.
The move is still pending ECU board of trustees approval, which could come later this week.
Harrell has been at helm of the Pirate ship for more than a month since Mike Houston was let go.
ECU has won four straight games against no defeats since Harrell was made the interim head coach, including Saturday’s come-from-behind 40-28 triumph at North Texas. The Pirates also have beaten Temple, FAU and Tulsa. They close the season this Friday at home against Navy.
Harrell has gotten growing public support from multiple players and those within the ECU athletics community. Starting quarterback Katin Houser posted on Twitter/X the hashtag #Wewantharrell after Saturday’s win. He also reposted an election-style graphic that read “Harrell/Baker – Make East Carolina Great Again – 2024” referring also to ECU offensive coordinator John David Baker.
Harrell joined the Pirates staff in 2020 as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. He had worked with Mike Houston at both Lenoir-Rhyne and The Citadel, and was a 2021 Broyles Award nominee, an honor that recognizes college football’s top assistant coaches.
“Harrell, 45, was considered a long shot to get the job long-term when he took over as interim,” Stephen Igoe of Hoist The Colours, a 247Sports site devoted to ECU wrote on Monday. “But the Pirates have looked like a completely different team since. The defense has been solid, but it’s been the offense under first-year coordinator John David Baker that has truly taken off, as the insertion of quarterback Katin Houser has led to consistently dominant offensive outputs. ECU has posted 500 or more yards of total offense and more than 200 yards rushing in Harrell’s first four games as coach.”
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