East Carolina Football Coach Mike Houston Interview (4-8-20)

Josh great confidence more vicious and he knows his horse back to the drive Graham on sports hub try Robert I know you understand this every time I have houseguest over. I completely terrify them because near the door. I have a cardboard cutout of former ECU head football coach of the you'll and I understand, as weird as that is even weirder now that he wasn't even the last coach that ECU had, but the one before that for those who don't know I'm in East Carolina graduate Robert Walser produces this show is an ECU guy as well and were now being joined by the guy was the current head coach at ECU Mike Houston and Rob. He's a lovable guy and I found this interesting. I don't think I told you this in our past visits Mike but the moment you were hired. I actually heard from folks in Oklahoma.

Rough Lincoln Riley and they told me that they were huge fan of the hire from you at JM you is that relationship completely fixed now ECU.

The relationship between the football program. Rough McNeil and Lincoln Riley walking you know my relationship will be great and we had raw he come back and your clinic this past spring and I think that would've been a great step towards getting them back on campus are also getting there and you Lincoln is been very helpful with our staffs we got here.

They want to posses a course or program. I think it still feeling the need to be done on both sides and so it's deathly something is going to get done because of positive relationship, myself and our staff have with those two individuals yeah and rough McNeil. He loves East Carolina. So that's connected done somewhere the other house opposite. Give me a sense, how tough is it over there in eastern North Carolina did not have baseball at Clark LeClair Stadium and getting to see Cliff goblins guy do their thing. Well, make everything you know it's you missing the baseball season. Certainly Cliff had a very strong team probably had a shot to make a run over all they got that taken away from the spring. You know we were on sale at a high like I got here with the football program getting ready to head into the spring practice that we are all very excited about track and field athletes and everything everybody else know it's really been talking all that got taken away from urban student-athletes and the coaches. Because of this year. This virus do you do with national Mike Houston with ECU head football coach. This is something I'm always interested ECU and philosophies change from coach to coach.

What do you view as the ideal nonconference schedule for ECU football because a big part of the program's identity through the decades. I even saw the game that was airing on Saturday or put on the web for ECU knocked off Miami at Carter Finley Stadium back in 1999 you think about what LinkedIn and rough did just a handful years ago and what you're trying to do again what do you view as did nonconference schedule. Ideally you'd like the pleasure to hear think a mix of real opponent. Probably what everybody would like to see you know thinking of the matchup with NC State last you a great reply South Carolina this coming fall.

You know, North Carolina is always a big robbery. You'd love to get to know Virginia Tech fracture, but you love to get them back on the schedule you not games like that regional matchups between the top schools is one get the most excited about was excited about it would make a lot of sense to play out state more regularly and you got to start doing that next year right we get we get them next year legal site in Charlotte and then we got him again, maybe the following year, two years later still got a couple games coming up with that statement certainly know that that's a program that has for years was STS option which embraced me with that level and made a really positive transition.

So now they're getting you a lot more respect nationally, especially with the seasons had last two years. Think your fan base will see that is a great match of the well Mike Houston ECU head football coach with us here on sports untried every time you with this at the point out that your coaching career. After your days in college started here in the Triad have to make sure to point that out what you about what you telling you guys might when they come to you with concern something that's been reported concerns that there might not be football this for how do you address that took me behind the sink well you know we had a team meeting yesterday. You virtual team meeting and talked with the subject. Everything that that we here right now is that we were going to have a season. We hope to start on time for the better not be dictated by how long it takes is to get out of this situation were in safety. The most important thing is the safety and well-being of our student-athletes and and everyone around the program so I think some point okay on Tom, but you need to start mid-September, so as long as we get up there and playing football.

But let's cut through it. Though there are some people who say all you need to have spring ball and you need to have a full month to get ready for season in order to play and have it be competent level football give me the real answer. How long does it take to get a team ready, like if you're talking bear essential needs in order to fire things up while think the big thing is to safely get everybody ready if you're out you look up and were out for months away from each other for six weeks training wise to get the players back into the physical condition that they would need to get through preseason camp and what you want to make sure is in the preseason camp prepares them for the long season. You can go out and play a game pretty quick but you don't want is you want to smoke up and through whom we can your injuries are stock charts because your players are not conditioned and prepared to grind the college football season so you what we all think we all think Facebook take you know about for six weeks to prepare for preseason camp and you would like to have a full preseason camp so that that means we gotta be back doing something by beginning of July start on time and in the later it goes you know in the summer, then you might see the opening date pushed back.

I know you been trying to keep tabs on everybody safeties obviously first and then obviously you have the priorities with your family and such. But with the added time indoors.

What's the best movie or show you watch the last few weeks about 11-year-old and seven-year-old so that members of my viewing dictated by them yet lack last night we watched all blog Mall cop to. There was a sequel. There was a sequel yet solid and they were they were they were riveted by election secret life of cats to this past weekend so movie nights a week number when you visited with us.

Once you said that you love Chapelle show and that maybe the character that was to your heart with Ashley, Larry, what's your favorite Chapelle so that oh I don't know maybe I meet – very long really good.

He always liked the ones with plants and Jake and Rick James classics down now what would your saving faith. Those are the classic classes once I could go everybody calm down Mike Houston. Have you ever done one of the five finger say to the face of someone man well it's is good to hear from you and I'm sure a lot of pirate fans around here feel the same way when this all clears up I'll make a deal with you. I'll treat you to the national championship winning sup dog sometime soon will make that happen.

So, no doubt no doubt that a little bit this past week so Brett knows God. There are huge supportive supporters of ours and Brett Oliverio. Once upon a time, this is the craziest part about the straddling know if you know this sup dog. It's a bar in Greenville America and up to you what this this is a place that is only about 10 or a dozen years old and Brett took over for his brother who passed away in a house fire trying to save his dogs. Brett came from the world of sports radio. He was a big time radio producer in DC and then took over the joint. Now we expanded it is pretty crazy right right yeah you got a menu open Chapel Hill you got you actually a James Madison graduate so we can have that connection. Also a lot, you know he's easy.

I would think you might see some dogs pop up all over the state is not part of the recruiting pitch hey we got we do we win national championships here. Here's proof welled up from the stop stop for lunch for recruit top employees. You're absolutely right for you the best Mike, thanks for doing this.

No primate will say one last thing. Thanks to all the healthcare professionals that are going to work daily Take care of us and put in a lot of wine. We hope we all you so much. That's very well set. Thank you code yeah I have a great day.

No go Pirates on the way out of their Mike Houston ECU pirates head football coach joining us on the drive.

Robert what's the best story you could share with the audience experiences you've had at sup dogs, which was the winter of barstools best or for the second consecutive year barstool to me is a place where when underdogs will season yes sup dogs is a place to me where whether it was Monday and you go there with him for mug night where you can bring any container any sized kit of pain or death, and they will fill it up for a dollar. It got bumped up the two dollars somehow clean and I realize that when I came back to North Carolina Colorado. Back when I was in school and it was only school we had. Do you see sicko for logos and they were the real stuff I was there for a mug night one night and you know when they used, they didn't have the top tier balcony. It was just the bottom yeah not like this really elaborate balcony. We had we had a big group and some of my friends were sitting on the edge of it which is now illegally do not allow anyone to sit on the edge and we were playing the card game where you put on your four head and I have to guess who they are just like this on a glorious past exactly. And one of the girls threw her hands up on to show who she was and she tumbled off the back and just landed flat back like a professional wrestler and bumped off of the balcony. The pull, the ambulance had to come get her and I think we got our drinks for free that night thanks to Brett.

I'm not sure B.this sounds like a wondrous place doesn't just someone somewhere have never been.

Would you like to go to Greenville America with me and Robert, sometime go to sup dogs. I am interested in not know everything and somehow should definitely not go is fine.

I was just not is not invited and not about inviting invited. I think I would have a great time there apartment down there. We can all crash there this week. If there is there is football August 29. It's week zeros for week one ECUs playing Marshall while nobody else in the state is blank. So maybe we can try and organize heading that way as a group for that opener if I would have. There is football him with that you would get to see me in very rare air yeah I Greenville Robbie is a completely different beast from the one you see before I can attest to that.

I actually saw remnants of Greenville Robbie last Saturday night will be a zoom shop that doesn't tell Doug about that will be given by the we we should we should probably hang out this weekend for sure will chat it up as you can hear the Johnson studio and I'll tell you why Tom Brady.

He should be beloved not hated next