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Q. L.R. Tackett says: I see where Chad Morris either quit as head coach of Allen High school or he was fired after just one season. Surely this is the end of his coaching career right? A. Based on what I’ve read so far it looks like he’s going back to the college game as an assistant coach perhaps in the Dallas area. TCU, SMU and North Texas are the schools that have been mentioned. I’ve reached the point where I’m tried of talking about Chad Morris. He was a terrible head coach Arkansas. Worse than John L. Smith. He had success as an assistant coach at Clemson but was not effective at Auburn. He had a bad season at Allen High school. read more: https://www.fox16.com/sports/local-sports/softball-bracket-talk-sunday-baseball-blues-the-ncaas-plan-for-nil-abuse/

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas' fans left Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday evening still not sure they had witnessed the home team lose to North Texas 44-17. One way of showing their displeasure on Saturday was loud boos at end of first half and when Cole Kelley threw his fourth interception of the day. The loudest cheer of the day may have been when Connor Noland entered the game. Following the game, Chad Morris talked to the media. A trio of players were also brought into the media room. Santos Ramirez, Jared Cornelius and Hjalte Froholdt were the three players made available. Each expressed some form of disappointment with the boos from the fans. I will point out the boos were directed at Morris for playing Kelley as much or more than they were at the sophomore quarterback himself. I am not into booing. I have never been to a game to watch a team play and booed. Fans are frustrated right now and while Morris will get a lot of criticism one has to understand it's more than three games that has fans upset. Fans are upset because Arkansas is now entering his seventh year in a row of watching the Razorbacks struggling on the field. read more: https://www.nwahomepage.com/pig-trail-nation/the-morning-after-this-loss-will-sting-for-a-long-time/1450018200

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - North Texas used six interceptions to defeat Arkansas 44-17 on Saturday in Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Starting quarterback Cole Kelley was 16 of 35 passing for 185 yards with four interception. He did run for a 5-yard touchdown. The Arkansas fans in attendance booed loudly after halftime and then when Kelley threw his fourth interception in the third quarter. Wide receiver Jared Cornelius took exception to the boos. "It's really easy to pick one guy to point a finger at," Cornelius said. "For the majority of the first half I think that guy was Cole at least by the outside world. I think the receivers could run better routes, the offensive line could protect better and guys can get out on their checks and chip defensive ends. "When you come out of the locker room to start the second half and your starting quarterback is getting booed by the home team. When is that right? How is that right? I feel I have been holding this in for a minute, but at the end of the day that is someone's son, someone's brother, that's my brother. I'm not gonna sit around like that is OK. When a guy comes in the second half we're still in the game and they are booing him. That's not the standard, that's not gonna be the standard." read more: https://www.nwahomepage.com/pig-trail-nation/north-texas-routs-arkansas-44-17-behind-six-interceptions/1448874446

read more: https://www.nwahomepage.com/sports/pig-trail-nation/top-10-questions-entering-the-hog-football-season-no-4-kicking-game/1335555116

Morris is getting serious looks at Tennessee... if he leaves it would not shock me to see them go after Seth. UNT (9-3): Too high for Seth Littrell? Maybe if you aren’t paying attention. Littrell will be on a lot of short lists this time next year, just watch. In year one at a moribund program he got the Mean Green to a bowl game. In year two he has them playing for a conference title. An off-shoot of the Mike Leach coaching tree, Littrell had success at Kansas (no, seriously, Kansas used to be respectable), Tech, Arizona, and UNC before heading to Denton. With an athletic department firmly in his corner and plenty of untapped resources, he has North Texas heading in the right direction in a hurry. I would absolutely take him over the guys below, I mean, he has UNT primed for a ten win season just two years after going 1-11. Though Scott Frost gets all the love, and deservedly so, what Littrell has done is almost as impressive. It will be interesting to see what happens next for Littrell... if Morris ends up at A&M, he would be a perfect fit at SMU. read more: https://www.frogsowar.com/2017/11/28/16708290/state-of-texas-power-rankings-which-coach-would-you-want-the-most-edition

Last season, the Coogs won 13 games, including a 38-24 victory over No. 9 Florida State in the Peach Bowl. The only teams to win more games than Houston last year - CFP champion Alabama and runner-up Clemson. Their path to the Peach Bowl also included a 49-28 rout over Chad Morris and the rebuilding 2-win SMU Mustangs, and in a recent conversation with the Rotary Club of Houston, Herman threw out this jab against the Mustangs: 'We understand the price of a championship. That price is the same for Alabama, as it is for Ohio State, as it is for the University of Houston...In order to pay that price you've got to be willing to invest. Guess what? There's a price for 9-win seasons. There's a price for 8-win seasons and 7-win seasons and 6-win seasons...And if you're satisfied with going 7-5 and going to the Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl, then great. Then you're in the wrong program, and we'll find a place for you to go. I hear there's a private school up in Dallas that's really looking to try to get to 7 wins...We are into building championships.' read more: http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/smumustangs/2016/05/12/ironic-shots-fired-houstons-head-coach-think-smu-willing-pay-price-winning-football-program

read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/columnists/bill-nichols/20150908-nichols-how-smu-s-chad-morris-plans-to-prevent-repeat-of-embarrassment-vs.-north-texas.ece

On facing North Texas: “It’s their opener. I know those guys will be extremely ready to go, especially opening up the season. I’m going to challenge our guys with the embarrassment that they had up there. Watching that game from last year was very disheartening. Our guys will be excited about getting back on the field for a Saturday night game and perform in front of our fans and our crowd, which I thought was outstanding.” On if having a bye week to open the season gives North Texas an advantage: “I guess it’s a little bit of an advantage because they got to see the personnel we have on the field and watch us play. I guess that’s an advantage. If that were us, I would definitely be saying it’s an advantage. But in the same sense, as a coach, you always try to get that first game out of your system because there are a lot of things that are unknown in your first ball game, especially a first ball game on the road.” read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/09/smu-quotable-chad-morris-challenges-team-after-last-years-embarrassment-vs-unt.html/

On February 25, 1987, Chad Morris was an 18-year-old senior at a high school in Edgewood, Texas, a small town 60 miles east of Dallas. That may seem like an arbitrary slice of minutiae with which to begin a story, but this happens to be a story about the football program at Southern Methodist University, and it is pretty much impossible to talk about SMU without referencing February 25, 1987, the day an NCAA enforcement official got so stressed out while announcing that the Mustangs would receive the proverbial death penalty that he literally fainted on the spot. Three decades later, February 25, 1987, remains the defining day in SMU football history. Unless and until Morris rebuilds the Mustangs into a statewide and national power (and since we’re talking about Texas, the two are generally synonymous), it will continue to be so. And so this is one of the first things I ask the first-year head coach, who’s coming off four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Clemson, about when I speak to him on the phone. He tells me that he doesn’t remember where he was on that particular day, though he does remember the emotional weight of that period. He tells me that he grew up taking a bus to SMU games, and that he has distinct memories of those Pony Express glory days, and that he’s spoken to several of the players who were at SMU back then (including Eric Dickerson, who has criticized the school for its feckless approach to rebuilding and supporting the football program in recent years). He says that he is not ignorant of the past but that, in terms of a deeper historical analysis of the SMU program, he “can’t really go any further back than the era I just replaced.” And this is a perfectly understandable hedge from a coach who is seeking to move ahead rather than continually analyze the repercussions of a decision made when he was an adolescent preparing to attend Texas A&M. read more: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-college-football-preview-chad-morris-smu-mustangs-rebuild/

Has anyone thought about the irony of SMU hiring former high school coach Chad Morris and our hiring of Todd Dodge back 9 years ago? In familiarizing myself with Morris and the direction he intends to take in the SMU rebuilding project, I took in some videos and articles around his introduction to the SMU community and the media in general. I swear to you, you could have taken clips and sound bytes from 9 years ago when Dodge was announced as HC at UNT and matched them up exactly with the Morris talking points. "I'm a Texas high school coach first and proud of it" or "We've had 100's of area high school coaches sending me texts" or "We open our arms to all of the high school staffs to be a part of this" or "I have an obligation to represent the Texas High School Coaches" etc etc... Make no mistake, there is a lot in common in what SMU AD Rick Hart is trying to do now compared to what UNT AD Rick Villarreal was trying to do almost a decade ago. And honestly, there are some differences. Morris was a heralded college assistant at Clemson and one of the highest paid in the country. Dodge had a quick cup of coffee as an assistant at North Texas before going back into the high school arena. Morris is making reportedly $2+ million a year at SMU and Dodge was making $331,448 a year at UNT. Morris has assembled a very impressive staff with college experience, including recruiting guru Van Malone as well as some young assistants he worked with at Clemson. Dodge brought in mostly high school assistants from Southlake Carroll. I have to say, it's hard not to be impressed with Morris. He is an extremely passionate speaker, and by all accounts very personable and intelligent with a math degree from A&M. He has stated very clearly that it will take all of SMU, including faculty, students and alumni to get the program where they want it to be. But I also find it interesting that he says the reason he took the SMU job was to "get back to my roots" and it was "just a great fit"... come on Chad, SMU gave you a $1+ Million dollar raise and set up your family for life... not that he didn't already have a nice paycheck at Clemson but - let's be honest - the money played a pretty significant role in getting him back here. Let's just say I don't think he would be taking $331,448 a year to rebuild the Ponies. That said, I do think Morris will do good things at SMU. It's a good academic school that has a lot of tradition and it's sitting in huge city and plethora of good recruiting prospects. As a UNT fan you are constantly plagued with the "what ifs". What if we had forced Dodge to hire college assistants? Did he stipulate that he had to remain loyal to his high school staff? Or was our budget such that we we're ok with him bringing in guys who would not command a lot of money? Or was it a mixture of both? What if he had been given more direction and support from coaches with college experience who knew the ropes? Since UNT has a 20-year or whatever contract with SMU, we will get to watch what Morris is able to accomplish on the field of play. We will get to see how the recruiting picks up and how his uptempo offense and blitzing defense fairs as the years go by. Other than our game with SMU, I wish their program well. They have the same challenges all of us non p5's face. I do think Morris can do some really good things there. But, every time I look at or hear Morris speak it will remind me of the opportunity we lost with the Todd Dodge hire. A hire and direction which BTW many of us (including myself) were 100% behind at the time.

After a brutal 1-11 season last year for the SMU Mustangs, new head coach Chad Morris is looking to bring a new brand of excitement to the Hilltop. Here’s 10 things you may not know about the new face of SMU football… 1. All about the numbers The head coach went to school at Texas A&M, graduating in 1992 with a mathematics degree. 2. #PonyUpTempo The guy really, really likes his Red Bull. Don’t believe us? His Twitter feed is full of pictures of Red Bull cans and #Tempo hashtags. 3. Climbing the coaching ladder Morris had an Art-Briles-like career path. He began as a high school head coach, and then got hired as an offensive coordinator before becoming a head coach. He had a 169-38 record at the high school level, including two straight 16-0 seasons and championships at Lake Travis. (Both teams were led by eventual SMU starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert) read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/10-things-to-know-about-smu-head-coach-chad-morris.html/

Chad Morris is into fixing things. So when he arrived at SMU last December as the school’s new football coach, he got to work right away and convinced his bosses to cough up more than $1 million for facility upgrades. Morris’ decorating touch can be seen throughout Gerald J. Ford Stadium, from upgraded weight room equipment to new video and audio technology, wall graphics highlighting the program’s three national titles, wood panels in place of dingy carpet, and an enhanced player’s lounge. In the coming months, the school expects to announce plans for a stand-alone football building that will house an indoor practice facility. Morris, a Dallas native, must now try to fix the team. His predecessor, June Jones, resigned after two games in 2014, and the Mustangs started 0-11 before beating Connecticut in the season finale. SMU scored 10 or fewer points in eight games. For years, Morris had been a hot name for job openings. He led Lake Travis to back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2008 and 2009 before becoming offensive coordinator at Tulsa. From there, he went to Clemson, where he was the nation’s highest paid public school assistant in 2012, earning $1.3 million. He sat down with the American-Statesman to discuss where he’s been, where he is and where he’s headed: What’s been the biggest challenge since you’ve started? I don’t even know if it’s really a challenge, but getting everyone to believe in the vision we have. When you come here, it’s easy to sell the academics, it’s easy to sell a degree from SMU. I haven’t been able to sell the fact this team won 11 games last year or went to a BCS game two years ago or what not. One of the things you sell is we have won 10 games each of the last four years (at Clemson). Everywhere I’ve been, we’ve won. We’ve won in high school in this state. That’s what you sell. I don’t know if it’s so much a challenge as it is to be able to sell the belief. When you’re trying to sell something on a product that was 1-11, you have to change the attitude. Not only were they 1-11, but their coach quit on them. Did you encounter a team with a broken spirit? I don’t know if the word “broken spirit” is right. Loss of direction. I think (interim coach) Tom Mason did an outstanding job, as good of a job as anyone could have done. But when the head coach leaves, players lose the sense of direction, the sense of leadership. You get to the point where the players sense this coaching staff isn’t gonna be here so they kinda lose belief in themselves. I really think it took them six or seven games before they realized, hey, maybe we can win a game. Because of the challenges, were you reluctant to consider the job? Had an awesome job at Clemson. Had a six-year contract. Loved it. I’m a Texas high school coach and this is home. When this job opened up, and because of the location that it’s in, i thought OK, this is the one, this is the one that we can go and get flipped and get turned, show improvement, get this thing on the right track. June had it that way. June went to four bowl games in six years and had Garrett Gilbert not gotten hurt, he would have gone to five in six. I think if they would have put just a little bit more emphasis in recruiting the state of Texas, who knows. When you start looking back to the mid- to early-2000s, SMU and TCU were neck-and-neck. In the last 10 years you’ve seen TCU take off. Because of where I’m from and the relationships I have in this state, that’s what really caused me to believe this is the right fit. If this job had been in Florida or the Carolinas or Georgia or Virginia, I wouldn’t have taken it because I didn’t have the strong bonds and the strong relationships that I have in this state. Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/sports/college-football/the-statesman-interview-smu-coach-chad-morris/nmhQD/?icmp=statesman_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_statesmanstubtomystatesmanpremium#18f36ec6.3499288.735770

One of the big offseason stories in Texas college football has been the arrival of new head coaches at SMU (Chad Morris) and Houston (Tom Herman). Each comes with an impressive pedigree and landed at schools with some inherent advantages due to location and something to sell as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Whether or not it’s true, each will tell recruits the American is the best conference in America outside of the Power Five. I bring it up because Dave Campbell’s Texas Football made the argument that the pair will end up ruling Texas college football outside the power leagues. … read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/06/dctf-argues-houston-smu-should-be-top-g5-programs-in-state.html/

A couple of days ago, UNT and SMU went head-to-head in a recruiting battle for East Texas running back/safety Kevin Johnson. Johnson committed to SMU, which in the large scheme of things wasn’t a huge issue for the Mean Green. UNT has plenty of good running backs coming back next season from veteran Antoinne Jimmerson to sophomores Jeffrey Wilson and Willy Ivery. What could get interesting is the bigger picture. Just to be clear, UNT is doing a good job recruiting and building relationships with Texas high school coaches. There were a ton of high school staffs that came through during UNT during spring practice. Texas high school coaches like Dan McCarney and his coaches. Let’s face it, everyone likes McCarney. He’s kind of like Johnny Jones in that way. Jones was the unofficial mayor of Denton for half a decade or so before he left for LSU. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/05/could-smu-with-morris-become-a-problem-for-unt.html/

Quarterback Quick take: Matt Davis appears to have the edge on true freshman Ben Hicks at the quarterback position. While Hicks is a special talent and will almost certainly be the guy down the line, he looked the part of a first year player at the spring game. Meanwhile, Davis appears to have made strides from last season and is a good fit in Chad Morris’ offense. Remember, Davis led SMU in both passing and rushing last season. The former four-star recruit has potential, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Morris mold him into a pretty darn good football player. With that said, Hicks will push him in fall camp. Read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/04/a-closer-look-at-smus-post-spring-position-battles.html/

One of the great pastimes for UNT fans is to watch what is going on at SMU, the Mean Green’s neighbor to the south. Morris There are plenty of good reasons that’s the case. UNT and SMU compete for media attention, fans and, yes, recruits. There are a few SMU fans who will deny that is the case, but it has been the truth for a long time. I bring it up because it is going to be very interesting to see how the next few weeks go in terms of recruiting, not to mention the next few seasons after SMU hired former Texas high school coach and Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/12/keeping-an-eye-on-smu.html/

It’s safe to say that Southern Methodist University head coach Chad Morris sees the potential in coaches on the high school level. After all, he was a high school football coach himself. After being named SMU’s coach, Morris plucked Claude Mathis away from DeSoto to serve as his running backs coach, and Morris has just selected another coach from the college ranks, according to the Dallas Morning News. Mark Smith, coach at Hurst L.D. Bell since 2009, will join Morris’ staff as the Director of Recruiting and an offensive analyst. Read more: http://texashsfootball.com/2015/01/morris-adds-another-texas-high-school-coach-to-smu-staff/

Nebraska: Bo Pelini has been let go. AD Shawn Eichorst has announced that he decided to make a change and informed Bo this morning. SMU: Chad Morris is headed to Dallas. All will be officially official soon enough. We dont expect any full-time assistants from Clemson to join Morris at SMU. We hear his staff is likely have a heavy Texas influence (as it should). Well keep you posted Read more: http://footballscoop.com/the-scoop/

Former UNT assistant coach Van Malone will be announced as SMU’s defensive coordinator some time in the next few days, a source close to Malone said Tuesday afternoon. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/12/former-unt-assistant-to-join-smu-staff.html/

Editors note: this guy can flat out recruit and was the best recruiter on the Dickey staff back when he was here. Malone’s experience recruiting in the Lone Star State is likely a factor in his name being connected to the SMU opening. Prior to Malone’s two-year stint in Tulsa, he coached defensive backs one season at North Texas and four seasons at Texas A&M. The Cowboys’ pass defense has allowed an average of 282.8 yards through the air per game this season, a mark that ranks No. 120 nationally. read more: http://newsok.com/media-report-oklahoma-state-cornerbacks-coach-van-malone-candidate-to-become-next-defensive-coordinator-at-smu/article/5371835