East Carolina hires Scottie Montgomery as coach
Scottie Montgomery won't have to move too far for his new job.
East Carolina has hired Montgomery, Duke's offensive coordinator, to be its new head coach.
"Ten days ago I said that I was looking for someone who will be a fierce competitor, who will lead our football program to championships, while equally demanding academic success," ECU athletic director Jeff Compher said in a statement. "As we worked through the entire search process, it became overwhelmingly clear that Scottie Montgomery possesses every attribute necessary to put our football program in a position to win championships and graduate our student-athletes."
Montgomery has been the offensive coordinator under Duke head coach David Cutcliffe for the past two seasons. He came to the Blue Devils from the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he served as the team's wide receivers coach.
Duke was 40th in total offense in 2015. Montgomery replaced Kurt Roper, who went to be the offensive coordinator at Florida for a season before spending 2015 as a member of the Cleveland Browns' staff. Roper is returning to the college ranks for next season to be the offensive coordinator at South Carolina under former Florida coach Will Muschamp.
Montgomery went to Duke and played in the NFL after he was an undrafted free agent in 2000.
He'll have some bridge-building to do at East Carolina. And he'll need to win immediately. The school fired beloved coach Ruffin McNeill, an ECU alum, to find a new coach. In the release announcing McNeill's firing, ECU athletic director Jeff Compher said that the Pirates were expected to contend for "championships."
The Pirates were 5-7 in 2015.
Former Michigan coach Brady Hoke was considered a candidate for the position and interviewed with the school. Pirate Illustrated reported he "was a no go due to budgetary reasons."
For more East Carolina news, visit PirateIllustrated.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!