Josh Aldridge Leaving ECU After One Season, Accepts Defensive Coordinator Job at USF

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East Carolina will be searching for a new defensive coordinator once again. After just one season in Greenville, Josh Aldridge is leaving the Pirates to take the same position at South Florida, marking a quick move for the young coordinator after helping ECU put together one of its strongest defensive campaigns in years.

Aldridge, who arrived from Auburn last offseason, stepped into a major reset on defense but still helped guide the Pirates to significant growth. His unit finished the regular season among the AAC’s top groups, highlighted by a pass defense that consistently frustrated opponents and a front seven that blossomed with breakout players like Zion Wilson, J.D. Lampley, and Ja’Marley Riddle.

Under Aldridge’s direction, ECU improved in several major categories compared to 2024, showing more discipline, better tackling, and a stronger ability to generate negative plays. His fingerprints were all over the squad’s identity: aggressive, confident, and opportunistic.

But despite the progress the Pirates made, Aldridge became the latest coach to be pulled away by a rival American Conference program. For a USF team that surged to bowl eligibility and is pushing hard toward contention, bringing Aldridge on board signals its intent to strengthen a defense that lagged behind its offense for much of the year.

For ECU, the timing isn’t ideal. The Pirates are coming off an encouraging 8-win season, their best conference record since joining the AAC, and one of the league's strongest defensive cores is set to return for 2026. Blake Harrell will now have to identify a new coordinator who can maintain and ideally elevate the trajectory Aldridge helped start.

Harrell has weathered a transition before, and the Pirates’ defensive foundation is much stronger than it was a year ago. With veteran leaders like Dameon Wilson, a rising star in Riddle, and a disruptive defensive front returning nearly intact, the next coordinator will inherit a group capable of taking another step forward.

Still, Aldridge’s departure marks another offseason challenge for ECU’s staff continuity, one that Harrell will now move quickly to address as the Pirates prepare for bowl season and the early stages of the 2026 calendar.