GREENVILLE, N.C. _ There's no brown liquor allowed on the team bus, not even after a 55-point loss to end a miserable season.
There's no such rule against Google.
On the ride back to Greenville after East Carolina's 58-3 loss at N.C. State on Dec. 1, quarterback Holton Ahlers fired up his smartphone to learn more about coach Mike Houston, who was rumored to be a candidate for the Pirates' job.
Ahlers, who is from Greenville, grew up an ECU fan and wants the proud program to get back to the better recent days of Ruffin McNeil, Skip Holtz and Steve Logan after a three-year lull under Scotty Montgomery.
"We definitely did our research," Ahlers, who started five games last season but missed the N.C. State loss with an injury, said recently at ECU's media day.
The more Ahlers and his teammates read about Houston, who led James Madison to a national championship at the Football Championship Subdivision level in 2016 and helped Lenoir-Rhyne reach the Division II title game in 2013, the more they liked.
"We knew that he had a proven track record of changing programs and winning," Ahlers said. "He was the guy we wanted."
Two days after the disaster at N.C. State, the Pirates got their man. Houston, who had also considered taking the UNC Charlotte job, signed a five-year deal worth $7.38 million with ECU on Dec. 3.
