East Carolina’s athletic department has its next leading man.

Jon Gilbert, currently the athletics director at Southern Miss, has accepted a job at ECU in the same capacity, Brian Bailey of WNCT reports. Gilbert, the leading candidate for multiple weeks now, will take the job after ECU's eight-month vacant period following the resignation of former AD Jeff Compher, who accepted a $1.2 million buyout in early March.

Gilbert’s first athletic director job came at Southern Miss, where he started in January of 2017. The long-time college administrator previously worked for current ECU athletics advisor Dave Hart - who ran the athletic director search - at both Tennessee and Alabama. Hart was the AD with the Volunteers from 2011-17, while Gilbert served as the associate athletic director under Hart during that time period.

Hart and Gilbert also spent time together at Alabama, where Hart was the deputy athletics director for many years. Gilbert served in several roles in the Crimson Tide athletics offices over a near 17 span before heading to Tennessee.

The duo of Hart and Gilbert are expected to finalize the hiring of ECU’s next football coach. As of Sunday morning, all signs were pointing to James Madison coach Mike Houston as the frontrunner. Houston met with ECU in Virginia this morning and sources tell Hoist The Colours a deal could be done in the next day or two if all goes according to plan.

UNC Wilmington athletics director Jimmy Bass also met with Hart about the athletic director position, but the job ultimately went to Gilbert. South Carolina associate AD Charles Bloom was also in the mix at one point, according to sources. But Gilbert's track record and familiarity with Hart made the difference in the end.

The introduction of Gilbert comes at a tumultuous time for Pirate athletics. The football program has endured four consecutive losing seasons, causing friction among the fan base, a substantial a drop in ticket sales, and the loss of belief in the chain of command. Gilbert’s initial roles at ECU will be to fix football and unify the fan base with proper leadership, something Pirate fans haven’t had to look forward to for some time now. Former football coach Scottie Montgomery was fired this past Thursday, two days before Saturday's season-ending loss at NC State.

ECU’s athletic department is currently projecting an operating budget in the red more than $4 million at the end of this fiscal year, presenting another big challenge right out of the gate for Gilbert.

During his time at Southern Miss, Gilbert hasn’t made any notable hires. He did extend the contract of football coach Jay Hopson in August, but Hopson and basketball coach Doc Sadler were already in place when he arrived in Hattisburg.

Gilbert is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, North Carolina, where he played football. Houston coached at Lenoir-Rhyne well after Gilbert’s playing days, taking the Bears to the national championship at the Division II level in 2013.