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Mack Brown on Mike Houston firing: 'We need him in coaching'

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•about 14 hours•

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James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Mack Brown opened up on Mike Houston following the East Carolina coach’s firing Sunday. The UNC coach is a big supporter of Houston, especially wherever he ends up next.

Houston was in the midst of his sixth season with the Pirates. ECU announced defensive coordinator Blake Harrell will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

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Originally, Houston’s contract was set to run through 2026. His future is unknown, but Brown was adamant about Houston being in college football.

“I want to congratulate Mike Houston on all his success,” Brown said during his availability Monday. “I was sorry to see him leave East Carolina yesterday. They made a change. Actually called him, talked to him last night. I have great respect for him as a person and as a coach. He’s won everywhere he’s been, and he’ll go somewhere else and he’ll win. He’s just a great coach, and I admire him so much, and want to congratulate him on all of his success and wish him good luck in his next venture, because we need him in coaching. We need guys like him around kids.”

Houston took over a true rebuild, and went 4-8 in 2019 and 3-6 in 2020 to begin his tenure. In 2021, the Pirates took a major step forward, going 7-5 and making the Military Bowl, which was later canceled. ECU then improved even more in 2022, going 8-5 and winning the Birmingham Bowl over Coastal Carolina.

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Since then, though, things have been disastrous for Houston and East Carolina. 2023 marked the first season after the departure of longtime quarterback Holton Ahlers, and the Pirates struggled immensely on their way to a 2-10 campaign.

Houston’s tenure at East Carolina will forever be remembered by his struggles against other North Carolina schools. After the loss to Charlotte in Week 6, Houston fell to 0-7 against in-state FBS opponents; 34-6 at NC State (2019), 33-19 vs. Appalachian State (2021), 21-20 vs. NC State (2022), 43-28 at Appalachian State (2023), 10-7 vs. Charlotte (2023), 21-19 vs. Appalachian State (2024) and 55-24 at Charlotte (2024).

Overall, Houston was 27-38 in his six seasons in Greenville. That includes a 15-28 record in AAC play.

East Carolina is back in action this weekend against Temple, set for a 2:00 p.m. ET kickoff.

Jonathan Wagner contributed to this report