Mike Houston had turned around programs a few programs before leading James Madison to the FCS national title in 2016.
However, in his sixth season at East Carolina, he was let go back in October after a 3-4 start.
He had led the Pirates to 7-5 and 8-5 seasons in 2021 and 2022, but ECU dropped to 2-10 in 2023 and the slow start to this past fall left decision makers wanting to go in a new direction.
Now he's set to land at Clemson, where Dabo Swinney continues to assemble an impressive array of talent to his support staff.
ESPN shares that Houston is joining the staff to work on the defensive side of the ball.
Before head coaching stops at Lenoir-Rhyne (D-II -NC), The Citadel (FCS) and then James Madison and ECU, Houston spent a few seasons calling the defense at Lenoir-Rhyne before ascending to the head coaching job and also spent a season as a Division III defensive play caller at Brevard (D-III - NC).
His opportunity at the college level came after a decade of high school experience, first as the defensive coordinator at Forbush HS (NC) and then TC Roberson (NC) before becoming the head coach at TC Roberson from 2001-05.
He joins a support staff at Clemson, where Dabo has recently added an NFL veteran talent evaluator in Kevin Kelly from the Chargers.
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