ECU coach Ruffin McNeill fires up the home crowd before the Pirates faced North Carolina Saturday afternoon. (Photo by W.A. Myatt] W.A. Myatt's gallery of game day images...

FOOTBALL Pirates live Dye's dream Pat Dye went undefeated (6-0-1) his last seven games at East Carolina. The tie (24-24) came at North Carolina on Oct. 27, 1979. ECU always had to play in-state ACC teams on the road in those days. ... More from Al Myatt...

FOOTBALL SPECIAL FEATURE 15 Questions for Warren Harvey Warren Harvey (5-11, 225) is in his third season as the East Carolina kickoff specialist and placekicker. Harvey is an ECU legacy as his father, Charlie Harvey, played soccer as a Pirate and also was the program's head coach in 1987. ... More from W.A. Myatt... Pictured: ECU kicking specialist Warren Harvey is climbing his way up the career record charts in points scored and PATs made. The senior from Greenville, who once converted 86 PATs in a row, has posted 11 multi-field goal games. (ECU Media Relations photo)

FOOTBALL Been there, done that Shortly after East Carolina's upset win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg two Saturdays ago, someone with the school told me he wished the football team would "act like they had been there before." ... More from Brian Bailey... MULTIMEDIA Audio: The Brian Bailey Show The Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. Brian's guest was ECU offensive line coach Brandon Jones (right): Replay show...

FOOTBALL GAME CENTER Inside Game Day | Photos | Ruff Post-game Audio AAC SCOREBOARD >>> ..... Friday > USF 17, UConn 14 ..... ..... Saturday > Duke 47, Tulane 13 ..... Temple 59, Delaware State 0 ..... Texas A&M 58, SMU 6 ..... ECU 70, North Carolina 41 ..... UCF 41, Bethune-Cookman 7 ..... Cincinnati 31, Miami (OH) 24 ..... Memphis 36, Middle Tennessee 17 ..... Houston 47, UNLV 14 ..... ..... Work pays off as Pirates party GREENVILLE — North Carolina's second trick play for a touchdown, a 29-yard pass from holder Tommy Hibbard to a wide open Eric Albright from field goal formation, momentarily subdued the excitement at rowdy Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday. The score came with 12:15 left in the first half and gave the Tar Heels their last lead at 20-14. ... More from Al Myatt... Pix: Heels can't hang with Pirates... ECU receiver Jimmy Williams is on the move during the Pirates' 70-41 rout of North Carolina on Saturday. Photo by W.A. Myatt. ... W.A. Myatt's gallery of game day images... Audio: Ruff & Players Post-game... ECU coach Ruffin McNeill spoke with the press after the Pirates defeated North Carolina on Saturday in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (recorded by W.A. Myatt; file photo): Select audio clip...

By Brett Friedlander
©2014 Bonesville.net
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Ruffin McNeill is a humble man clearly uncomfortable when talking about his feelings, especially as they pertain to his East Carolina football team. So it should come as no surprise that even after the most emotional victory of his five-year tenure with the Pirates, McNeill tried his best to downplay the significance of Saturday’s 70-41 dismantling of rival North Carolina.

His actions, however, spoke far louder than his words.

Instead of sprinting off the field immediately following his postgame radio interview as most coaches would have done, the former ECU defensive back made the moment last as long as possible.

He feigned an imaginary golf swing, then took turns pointing toward his chest and the festive crowd celebrating in the Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium stands during a triumphant stroll down the near sideline. As he reached the mouth of the tunnel leading into his team’s locker room, he stopped, looked up toward the Murphy Center balcony and with a tear in his eyes, cupped his hands in the shape of a heart in the direction of his wife Erlene and a large contingent of family members.

Make no mistake about it. While there are still more important games to play and an American Athletic Conference championship to pursue, Saturday’s victory was more than just another win for McNeill.

And not just because the blowout of epic proportions marked the first time ever that ECU has won back-to-back games against the dreaded Tar Heels.

For a college football lifer who didn’t get his first head coaching opportunity until his 50th birthday – at possibly the only school in the country that would give him a shot at such a late stage in the game – Saturday’s win was nothing short of sweet validation.

Validation for himself, for former athletic director Terry Holland for hiring him and for current AD Jeff Compher for rewarding him with a contract extension before the start of last season. The impact of the victory was so far-reaching that it helped McNeill earn mention as one of the nation’s three most underrated coaches in an ESPN poll.

As McNeill’s players noted in their postgame interview session Saturday, the recognition was long overdue.

“He deserves everything good that comes his way. We love that man,” linebacker Zeek Bigger said.

“Coach Ruff deserves everything positive he can get,” quarterback Shane Carden added. “He’s a great coach. He’s led us through some tough times and keeps us humble in the good times like this.”

A week earlier, following the Pirates’ upset of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Carden referred to McNeill as a father figure. It’s much the same kind of relationship McNeill had with his own ECU coach, Pat Dye – a man who coincidentally was on hand Saturday to witness and share his former player’s finest hour.

“When I came to East Carolina at 17 years old, it was because of Coach Dye and how he treated everyone here,” McNeill said. “Everyone was somebody, no matter who you were, where you were from and whether you were rich or poor. He taught us the value of family, hard work and the team concept. Coach Dye has had such an influence on my life, to see us win (Saturday) was an honor for me.”

Dye was the Pirates’ coach from 1974-79 during a time in which they took their first significant steps toward becoming a major Division I program. Like his mentor, McNeill is also in charge during a time of transition.

But unlike Dye and others that have followed him – including two-time Conference USA champion Skip Holtz – ECU’s current coach does not figure to be upwardly mobile and in a hurry to leave. As a proud graduate who professes his love for the university every chance he gets, there’s a reasonable expectation that McNeill plans to stick around long enough to see the job through as the newest member of the American Athletic Conference.

If ever there was a right man for a job at just the right time, he’s it.

Don’t let the 'I’m just a country bumpkin from Robeson County’ persona fool you, as it does so many of the opposing coaches he goes up against. McNeill is as sharp as they come. It shows in every facet of the program – from the assistants he’s hired to the schemes they’ve devised to the talent they’ve recruited to the attention that’s paid to even the smallest of details.

Even more important than the Xs and Os is his genuine passion for his alma mater and the vision that someday soon, ECU will be looked upon as an equal to Power Five rivals such as South Carolina, Virginia Tech and UNC. It’s a vision Pirate fans have had since those first few years as a Division I program under Pat Dye.

But now, after the emotional victories of the past two weeks, it’s closer than ever to finally being realized. Even if McNeill is too humble to come right out and say it.