Scottie Montgomery will be the next head coach at East Carolina
As the process to find a new head coach played out at ECU over the last week, many thought Brady Hoke and Everett Withers were the two lead candidates, but during the day on Saturday FootballScoop broke word that Scottie Montgomery was also still involved, and it turned out to be right.
Later on that night, multiple reports started to circulate that ECU decided Montgomery was, in fact, the man to lead their program into the future.
Montgomery played his college ball at Duke before playing a few seasons in the NFL with the Panthers, Broncos and Raiders, starting in 2000. After his playing career ended, he joined the Duke staff as wide receivers coach (2006-2009) and then left for the same position with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2010-2012.
From there he rejoined David Cutcliffe's staff at Duke in 2013 and helped lead the resurgence of the Duke program to a ten-win season. In 2014, Cutcliffe promoted Montgomery to associate head coach / offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach, the Blue Devils went on to win 9 games. This yea, Duke finished 7-6 and will play Indiana in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on December 26th.
Under his watch, Duke's offense has been as explosive as any offense in the ACC, and a number of playmakers on the national stage have been developed.
Many coaches in the profession believed that Montgomery would stick around at Duke and take over the program after David Cutcliffe decided to retire, but it appears that the opportunity at ECU was too good to pass up.
The Pirates are getting a top notch recruiter, an energetic coach, a man of high character, and someone that has been instrumental in the Duke turnaround. The hire may not have made the splash that some fans wanted, but this is a very, very solid hire for the ECU program.
One final note that may appeal only to me; but we have to give the man props for naming his two children Cassius and Moses. Very strong.
