East Carolina promotes interim coach Blake Harrell to permanent head-coaching job after 4-0 run

By The Associated Press

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — East Carolina is promoting interim football coach Blake Harrell to the permanent job after he led the Pirates to four straight wins. The school announced the move Wednesday. It comes roughly five weeks after Harrell took over when Mike Houston was fired. Harrell had worked as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach since his initial hiring in January 2020. In the interim role, Harrell led ECU in victories over Temple, Florida Atlantic, Tulsa and North Texas. That pushed the Pirates to bowl eligibility for the third time in four seasons.