Former Pirate, Doll, to ECU as Special Teams coach?

(Photo from aggieathletics.com)


East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill has been on the job a little less than a week, but he's already hired both of his coordinators and his assistant head coach.

Former Texas Tech inside receivers coach and Mike Leach understudy Lincoln Riley will be the offensive coordinator for the Pirates. Riley, who is just 26 years old, will certainly be one of the youngest--maybe the youngest--coordinators in the nation. However, while Riley will certainly have plenty to learn, the learning curve shouldn't be quite as steep due to his exposure to this particular system.

John Wiley, long-time defensive coordinator at FCS power Appalachian State and a close friend of McNeill, has been named the assistant head coach and linebackers coach.

Former Texas Tech cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell, who was recently the defensive backs coach at Memphis for a week, was hired by McNeill to coordinate the ECU defense. Mitchell, who spent four seasons with Ruffin in Lubbock, played at BYU and in the NFL before returning to Provo where he spent 11 seasons on the sidelines.

The only holdover from Skip Holtz's staff will be recruiting coordinator and WR coach Donnie Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick's presence will certainly help make the transition easier--particularly with recruiting.

Now, McNeill must hire a QB coach--if Riley isn't going to assume that duty, a running backs coach, a defensive line coach, a special teams coach and Director of Football operations.

Perhaps McNeill will consider former Pirate and current Texas A&M special teams coordinator Kirk Doll for the job. Doll, who was a candidate for the head job in 2002 and perhaps 2004, has a wealth of experience at major programs and in the NFL. He has been an assistant head coach at Notre Dame and LSU.