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Pirate Notebook Special
Friday, December 27, 2002

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

Q & A with George Koonce

Former East Carolina and Green Bay Packers star George Koonce recently served as a member of the committee that was involved in the search and interviews process for the new Pirates football coach. Koonce, who earned All-Pro honors and a Super Bowl ring with the Packers, agreed this week to answer some questions in a telephone interview with Bonesville's Denny O'Brien about the process that led to ECU's hiring of Florida defensive coordinator John Thompson. Following is a transcript of a portion of that interview.

©2002 Bonesville.net

Q: What kind of an honor was it for you to be a former Pirates player and then to come back and be on the interview committee that hired John Thompson?

A: It was an honor. Growing up in Eastern North Carolina and playing at East Carolina, I've always had a love and passion for the program. When I got the call from Chancellor Muse to be on the committee, I was elated. I came back — I was out of town at the time — and got into the process of interviewing the candidates. I think we got a really good coach.

Q: So, how did that process work? Did candidates appear before the committee and give a short presentation and then field questions?

A: Exactly. The candidates came in and basically gave their presentations and had materials to hand out. (The candidates) would give an introductory speech and then it was open for questions after that. They were allowed to elaborate on those questions for as long as they wanted. The interview process could take anywhere from an 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours.

Q: What were some of the things that you guys were looking for during the candidates' presentations?

A: I can't really speak for anybody else, I can only speak for myself. I was looking for candidates that were highly organized. Experience was a big thing I was looking for, too. I was also looking for emotion and enthusiasm. A passion to be at East Carolina University was very important. We all know East Carolina University is not like any other university in this state or the Southeast. We know that East Carolina is a different and special place. We were looking for a coach to come in and take this program by the horns and run with it.

Q: What was it about Coach Thompson's presentation that really impressed you?

A: He was very organized. I think he has a great plan in place. Now, he just has to implement that, follow that plan, and first and foremost, get the players to buy into it. If he gets the players to buy into it, I think he'll do a great job at East Carolina.

Q: What were your impressions about him as a potential recruiter?

A: I don't know what kind of connections he has in North Carolina. The positive right now is, hey, he can go out and win over a lot of high school coaches with his energy and enthusiasm, and just outwork the other schools. I'm pretty sure he has a game plan that is going to counteract the other programs in this state.

Q: With him being at so many schools, it seems like he could have a lot of connections in other states.

A: That's definitely a positive. He has connections in Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Also, we know that recruiting at East Carolina, there's a 300 mile radius that we have to recruit.

Q: When Coach Logan left, obviously East Carolina lost a man of high integrity. But with Coach Thompson, it seems that East Carolina got another guy of high integrity. How important was that in the process.

A: It was high. All he has to do is come in and keep things the same. If you look at players graduating, East Carolina has done a great job graduating players. East Carolina has graduated, what, 70 percent of its players? That's great. But as far as integrity and character with Coach Thompson, yeah, he's definitely got that. We won't have to worry there.

Send an e-mail message to Denny O'Brien.

Click here to dig into Denny O'Brien's Bonesville archives.

02/23/2007 01:45:36 AM
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