Source: Jerry Smith / Jerry Smith
Most ECU Pirates fans are still confused by the release of their beloved head football coach Ruffin McNeill. After several historic seasons leading the football program the university’s Athletic director Jeff Compher made the announcement Friday morning that the Pirates alum tenure as the leader of the program was over.
Fans that have followed the program for a while knew the season would be a challenge due to the loss of projected starting quarterback Kurt Benkert do to an injury just a couple of weeks before the season was to start. Benkert was being groomed to be the starting quarter and was waiting for his turn to replace recorded setting quarterback Shane Carden who graduated last year.
McNeill’s release comes as a surprise to fans due to his record and his passion he has for East Carolina and the program. Fans and both former and current ECU players immediately expressed their displeasure with the move via social media.
McNeill was a four-year letterman for the Pirates under Pat Dye from 1976 to 1979.
