— Ruffin McNeill, who led the East Carolina Pirates to a 42-34 (.553) record over six years, was fired Friday after a 5-7 season.

University Director of Athletics Jeff Compher made the announcement that McNeill had been relieved of his duties.

"After deliberate evaluation, the decision has been made to move our football program in a different direction with new leadership," Compher said in a statement.

McNeill returned to the Pirates, where he was a four-year letterman from 1976 to 1979, in January 2010. He signed a three-year contract extension on June 3, 2013, that, when added to his existing agreement, ran through June 30, 2018.

McNeill released a statement via Twitter Tuesday to express gratitute toward both the school and the fans.

"I'm deeply thankful to East Carolina University for the opportunity to fulfill my dream of being a head football coach," he said. "Six years ago, we set out to renew a passion of purple and gold and am proud of what we accomplished at ECU... To the devoted fans of Pirate Nation, I will always be grateful for your support and will never forget the feeling of leading our team into Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium."

ECU is 8-8 over two seasons in the American Athletic Conference.

Compher said a national search for McNeill's replacement would being immediately.

"Our goal will be to move expediently in the search process, and based on the outstanding support of our Pirate fan base and enhanced visibility in the American Athletic Conference, I am confident our candidate pool will be deep," he said.