|
Pirates look to Smith
to head up defense
From staff reports
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| Rick Smith |
| (USF Media
Relations photo) |
East Carolina is expected to
announce today that former Pirates assistant coach Rick Smith will
return to the program as defensive coordinator. WNCT-TV 9 sports
director Brian Bailey, a Bonesville columnist, reported the
development Thursday afternoon.
Smith will replace Brian Mitchell, who
was informed earlier this month that his contract would not be
renewed for 2013. A 1971
Florida State grad, Smith joins head coach Ruffin McNeill's staff
after spending three seasons as assistant head coach and defensive
backs coach under former Pirate skipper Skip Holtz at South Florida.
After his stint at ECU, Smith accompanied Holtz when Holtz departed
East Carolina after the 2009 season to become head coach at USF.
Highly regarded in college football
coaching circles, Smith has six years of experience as a defensive
coordinator at the Division I-A/Football Bowl Subdivision level and
33 years as a collegiate coach, all coming on the defensive side of
the ball. Holtz was fired by
USF at the end of the 2012 season, setting in motion the typical
scramble to find jobs faced by coaches and their assistants when a
regime change occurs. Holtz
landed on his feet when he was hired to take charge of the program
at incoming C-USA member Louisiana Tech.
Smith's destination will be the
familiar turf of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, where he played a part in
helping the Pirates capture back-to-back Conference USA
championships in 2008 and 2009 and yearly bowl berths from 2006-09.
PAGE UPDATED
01/18/13 06:41 AM.
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