East Carolina football appears poised to announce the hire of a new defensive coordinator as early as today, according to sources.

Head coach Ruffin McNeill was reportedly close to a final decision Thursday, and the lead candidate appears to be former Pirate defensive backs coach Rick Smith, who most recently was on Skip Holtz’s staff at South Florida.

Smith would replace Brian Mitchell, whose contract was not renewed this offseason after three lackluster years running the ECU defense.

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.