East Carolina football coach Scottie Montgomery continued the revamping of his staff Friday by announcing the hiring of Kirk Doll as the Pirates’ special teams coordinator.
Doll is an ECU graduate who also spent four seasons coaching at his alma mater under Ruffin McNeill from 2012-15, a stretch in which the Pirates played in three bowl games. He will officially begin his duties on Jan. 9, the date on which FBS schools are allowed to add a 10th on-field assistant coach according to a newly adopted NCAA Division I rule.
“It has become clear to me that surrounding yourself with quality people who offer a tremendous amount of experience like Kirk is a critical component of success,” Montgomery said in a statement. “Fortunately, we were provided an opportunity to exclusively dedicate a position to oversee our special teams unit and are absolutely thrilled to welcome back a Pirate with incomparable expertise at all levels in this area.”
The addition of Doll to oversee ECU’s special teams will allow fellow assistant Shannon Moore to concentrate on working with the team’s tight ends. He will also assume the new role of recruiting coordinator.
A former defensive end, Doll helped coach Sonny Randle’s Pirates to a Southern Conference championship as a senior in 1972. He earned his bachelor’s degree from ECU in 1973.
Doll began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wichita State before moving on to full-time assignments at Tulsa, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, LSU and San Jose State.
He also spent three seasons on the staff of the NFL’s Denver Broncos before returning to the college ranks and, eventually, his alma mater.
He spent the 2016 season coaching special teams at Florida International.
In 38 years of coaching, Doll has helped teams reach 17 bowl games and an AFC Championship Game while sending 18 of his players on to the NFL. He is the second ECU alumnus to be added to Montgomery’s staff in the past two weeks, joining new defensive coordinator David Blackwell back in Greenville.
