East Carolina fires Scottie Montgomery after 3 losing seasons

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) East Carolina has fired football coach Scottie Montgomery after three straight losing seasons.

Chancellor Cecil Staton announced the dismissal Thursday, two days before the Pirates take a 3-8 record into their season finale at North Carolina State. Defensive coordinator David Blackwell will be the interim head coach for that game and during the transition.

Montgomery went just 9-26 with a 4-20 record in American Athletic Conference play. He lost six of his final seven games. It's the least successful three-year period for the school since it won just eight games from 2003-05 under John Thompson and Skip Holtz.

Montgomery is a 40-year-old former Duke and NFL receiver who came to East Carolina after a successful stint as Duke's offensive coordinator.

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