Ready for ECU return, NC State assistant Ruffin McNeill ‘looking forward to the competition’
For the first time since being fired by his alma mater, Ruffin McNeill will return to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday — on the opposing sideline.
McNeill played defensive back at East Carolina from 1976-80, and returned in 2010 as the program’s head coach. He went 42-34 overall, but was unexpectedly let go in 2015.
He’s now on the N.C. State coaching staff, serving as a special assistant to head coach Dave Doeren. No. 13 N.C. State opens its season at ECU on Saturday at noon.
When McNeill was let go, he admitted he was hurt and disappointed.
“It was tough,” McNeill said Friday. “I’m only human, but never any negative words on my part.”
McNeill was one of the most popular coaches in recent memory for the Pirates. His ECU teams played in four bowl games. In 2013, the Pirates won 10 games, tied for the second-most in a season in school history. But after ECU finished 5-7 in 2015, McNeill was let go.
He didn’t stay unemployed long. McNeill served on the staffs at Virginia (2016) and Oklahoma (2017-19) before returning to North Carolina in 2020. Last fall, he made a trip to Greenville for the first time since he was fired and was honored as a new inductee into the ECU Sports Hall of Fame.
This weekend, he’s going back again. Though it will take on a very different feel: He’ll set up shop in the visitor’s locker room, and pace the opposite sideline, both things he’ll do for the first time.
“The emotions will be different,” McNeill said. “I’ve played on that turf, I coached on that turf. I was 17 when I first played on that thing. That was many moons ago, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Keeping with routine
McNeill, a former captain for the Pirates, isn’t new to the N.C. State-ECU rivalry.
He played against the Wolfpack four times when he was in college, making a game-winning tackle for the Pirates during a 28-23 win in 1977. As the coach at ECU, he led the Pirates to a 33-27 overtime win in 2010 and a 42-28 win in 2013.
McNeill’s responsibilities these days include being an extra set of eyes and ears on game day for Doeren. Part of McNeill’s pregame routine is coming out of the locker room extra early and taking a seat on the N.C. State bench. He won’t break routine in the opener, trying to not to do anything out of the ordinary.
“If I’m not out early, the boys here will be wondering what’s happening,” McNeill said. “So I gotta make sure I’m in my spot so they can see me so I can give them a hug and a word of encouragement.”
There may be more people than usual who want hugs from McNeill this Saturday — from stadium employees, friends on the ECU staff or people who still work with the Pirates program. Once the ball is kicked off, McNeill will lock in and put his feelings on the back burner. He expects much of the same from those wearing purple and gold.
“I know this one time they won’t be pulling for their former player to win,” McNeill said. “I’m looking forward to the competition.”
