By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — A first-year coach hiring rookie coordinators is a rather unorthodox formula for success, but for East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill and his crew that recipe has led to the school being able to reach it’s fifth straight bowl game.
It’s been an up and down season for East Carolina, which started out by winning five of its first seven games, only to lose four of its last five.
Despite the roller coaster ride, ECU finished the regular season even at 6-6 and earned its unprecedented fifth-straight bowl appearance when it accepted an invitation to play in the Military Bowl against Maryland (8-4) at RFK Stadium on Dec. 29.
Inconsistency was to be expected this season, as the Pirates lost several key players from their two-time defending Conference USA champion team, as well as the coach that guided them to those titles.
When Skip Holtz decided to accept the head coaching position at South Florida, it opened the door for ECU alum, and long-time Texas Tech assistant, Ruffin McNeill to come back home and coach the Pirates.
For McNeill, it was his first head coaching gig at the collegiate level, but that did not stop the former Red Raiders’ defensive coordinator from surrounding himself with youthful assistants who came to town as green as the field they practice on.
In an era of type-A coaches, McNeill is a bit more hands off than most, which is extremely gutsy for a guy in his first year at the top of the helm.
When McNeill came to Greenville one of his first moves was to name former Texas Tech inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley, 26 at the time, the offensive coordinator, making him the youngest in the country.
The new ECU skipper also cited that Brian Mitchell, 42, would get his first defensive coordinator job after serving as Texas Tech’s cornerback’s coach since 2006.
Other youthful new staff members included the 26-year old offensive line coach Brandon Jones, as well as 28-year old running backs’ coach Clay McGuire.
McNeill, who has said repeatedly stated that his mix of young and veteran coaches was by design, did make it a point to sprinkle in guys like associate head coach John Wiley, who at 48 has over 20 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level.
While college football is a great way for a fan to kill a few hours on a Saturday, it’s big business for everyone involved from on the university’s side from athletic director to ball boy. Just look at all the programs scrambling to join more prestigious conferences with bigger TV deals. In all of the recent moves, the school’s football program has been the main catalyst.
With that in mind, it makes McNeill’s decision to hire the 26-year old Riley even more bold. If the Pirates had flamed out on both offensive and defense this season, the big question right now would be how could a first-year coach come to town and hire two first-year coordinators to run his team. It would be viewed as lunacy.
For McNeill, the thought of facing any kind of backlash never crossed his mind.
“I don’t worry about opinions outside of my circle,” McNeill said. “I learned a long time ago that you make your decisions and you think about it, (but the thought of potential criticism) had no bearing on that; I knew we would be successful. … Failing never crossed my mind, and if anything were to happen, any backlash or criticism, you just can’t worry about that in this business.”
McNeill said he felt confident hiring Riley and Mitchell because they have earned his respect and trust over the past few years.
“I was methodical. Everything with me is based on trust and verification of trust; do I trust them, and then have I verified their trust. Everyone I have hired had to pass that first obligation with me,” McNeill said. “Then the next thing was chemistry. That’s the most important thing in any type of organization or business. We have great staff chemistry and we have great team chemistry. … I had those two guys in mind (for the coordinator jobs), we have been in battles and wars and the trust was established and verified.”
Working on the recruiting trail over the years helped Riley forge a relationship with McNeill, but the future offensive coordinator earned his seal of approval during the Alamo Bowl last season.
After former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach was fired for alleged mistreatment of a player, McNeill was tabbed to coach the Raiders as they prepared to face Michigan State.
McNeill didn’t hesitate to ask Riley to direct the offense, and the young coach handled the pressure-packed situation admirably as his offense scored 41 points in the team’s 41-31 win over the Spartans.
“Having recruited with him a bit was the first part. I know how hard he recruits and how hard he works. We have worked together in the staff room since he was a student assistant, to grad assistant, to being a full time coach,” McNeill said. “Then at the bowl game I asked him to be the coordinator. I saw how he ran that group the whole week, then the night of the game I saw how he handled all his calls. That was a big influence.”
Under Riley’s direction ECU has run the “Air Raid” offense effectively and the unit has been the most consistent one on the team, and one of the most productive in the country.
The Pirates lost six starters from last year’s C-USA title-winning team, most notably quarterback Patrick Pinkney and running back Dominique Lindsay, however, the team finished the regular season ranked 12th in the nation with 38 points per game.
This season East Carolina has accrued 445 yards of total offense per game which is the 22nd best total in all of the FBS, while the team’s 319 passing yards per game ranks 12th.
The Pirates’ rushing game lags a bit as they have averaged 126 yards a contest, but when you’re posting 38 points per game pointing out the lack of emphasis on running the ball just seems like nitpicking.
With quarterback Dominique Davis and a host of talented Pirates players coming back for another year in the system, the ECU offense is expected to take a step up. McNeill knows if the offense continues to be the signature of the program that other team’s will come calling for Riley. McNeill said that when that time comes he will not stand in the prodigy’s way.
“It’s always a compliment in hiring in this business. If you hire a good coach people are going to try and come after him,” McNeill said. “I think Lincoln has a bright future in this business and I think he will do a great job when he becomes a head coach. Whenever he is ready I’m sure he will let me know. I’m there for him, I would never do anything to hold one of our guys back.”