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The much-anticipated Board of Trustees meeting on Friday the 13th ended up
being another case of Much Ado about Nothing.
Or did it?
According to sources in the meetings, the athletic
administration will stay on as is for now.
That, however, doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case for
the future.
East Carolina University Chancellor William Muse took a
rather lengthy list of football coaching candidates to Friday’s meeting, a
list which, according to sources, will be narrowed down shortly with
hopes of naming a new coach before Christmas.
Some of those questions remain unanswered, but the
Chancellor answered my question on just who would hire the new football
coach.
Several sources within the athletic department confirmed
that Muse told the Pirate Club on Thursday that he would be handling the
hiring of the football coach.
He also told the Board of Trustees the same thing on Friday.
As far as possible candidates are concerned, the hot name in
Greenville this week was the name of Kirk Doll.
Doll is a 1974 graduate of East Carolina who is in his first year this
season at LSU as assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
While at Notre Dame, Doll helped lead the Irish to five bowl
games, including an appearance in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in 2000. Among
Doll's coaching responsibilities at Notre Dame were the linebackers, special
teams and the kickers.
Dr. Muse’s years in the SEC indicate that an SEC man may be
the coach to get the call. Add in the fact that Doll is an East Carolina
grad, and this one makes a lot of sense.
Former Georgia Tech coach George O’Leary’s name has also
popped up, and you have to feel that O’Leary will get a second chance
somewhere. O’Leary had “resume” problems at Notre Dame, but he is an
outstanding coach and will get another chance before long.
Follow this line of thinking: Dr. Muse hired Gene Corrigan,
the former Notre Dame athletic director and the former ACC commissioner, as
a consultant. Corrigan knew O’Leary from his days with the ACC, and you have
to think that Notre Dame asked for Corrigan’s input when Bob Davie was let
go at Notre Dame and O'Leary was named to replace him.
Obviously, things went south for the Irish with that hiring
before the ink was dry on the deal. Still, it goes without saying that
O’Leary will get a shot somewhere — and soon.
Many feel that Dr. Muse has a plan, and the firing of Steve
Logan was just step one.
The athletic director at ECU, Mike Hamrick, has struggled
with public relations problems for the past several months. The athletic
department audit, the “Friday Fiasco” with the North Carolina High School
Athletic Association, the Gene Corrigan report, and the lack of a public vote of
confidence in Hamrick from the Chancellor add up to to a question mark.
This season of discontent continues at East Carolina.
Good luck, Dr. Muse. Pirate fans everywhere are rooting for
you and would love to
know what you’re really thinking and just who will guide their football team
in the coming years!
