CBS Report: Clemson's Garrett Riley among 'potential candidates' for ECU opening

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Commanding a Top 10 offense in yards and points this season, Garrett Riley's name is getting reacquainted with the head coaching reports and rumors.

Midway through a fifth season at East Carolina, Mike Houston was fired by the Pirates earlier this week. CBS Sports cited "industry sources" naming Riley in a group with LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson as "potential candidates."

Riley got his FBS coaching start as a graduate assistant at ECU alongside his brother (and now USC head coach) Lincoln. He stayed there through 2015 and served as a wide receiver coach before departing for Kansas.

For the other candidates, Dawson is also in his second year as an offensive coordinator at his current school and went to in-state Wingate. Sloan is an ECU alum and also coached with La Tech.

CBS also reports: "One industry source pegged the head coach salary in the low $2 million range while another predicted the school could try to spend less than it did on Houston and try to divert some of the savings toward a salary cap that is expected to come with the House settlement revenue sharing. AAC schools aren't expected to fully fund the more than $22 million revenue share, but an extra $500,000 or $1 million at that level could make a huge difference."

Riley made $2.05 million last year at Clemson.

After a successful run at James Madison, Houston couldn't break through at ECU, following up the apex of an 8-5 season in 2022 with a 2-10 campaign in 2023 and a 3-4 start to the 2024 season. He went 27-38 overall and 15-28 in conference play with the Pirates.

“We are confident we will identify the right leader for our football program,” ECU AD Jon Gilbert said in a statement from the school this week. “I believe ECU is a premier job with a passionate fan base, unprecedented support from our Pirate Club donors, and great facilities that continue to improve. Right now, we are focusing on our student-athletes as they compete for a postseason opportunity in the final five regular season games. My hope is Pirate Nation will rally around our student-athletes like they have always done.”

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