Middle Tennessee football coach Rick Stockstill has withdrawn as a candidate for East Carolina's job.
The announcement was made today on the MTSU athletics Web site. Stockstill, a former assistant for the Pirates, led his team to a 10-3 record in 2009.
"I am very humbled and appreciative of the interest East Carolina University has shown in me about their head coaching position," Stockstill said in a statement posted online. "ECU is an outstanding university, community, and its football program has a great tradition and has been very successful throughout the years.
"The timing is never good for a coach to change jobs. However, the timing of this opportunity came at a critical time in recruiting with both universities and to the fault of neither MTSU nor ECU.
"I have decided I will remove my name from consideration at ECU. I could not look in the eyes of these recruits and their families and tell them the things I believe in and what I want them to believe in and then leave Middle Tennessee with only two weeks left in the recruiting process."
With Stockstill out, ECU athletic director Terry Holland is still believed to be interested in Temple's Al Golden and Bowling Green's Dave Clawson, among others.
