Morris Finalizes Initial Group of Staff Hires

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DENTON, Texas – North Texas has finalized the first batch of football coaching and support staff hires, head coach Eric Morris announced Thursday.

Joining Morris’ first UNT staff are Sean Brophy (Quarterbacks), Patrick Cobbs (Running backs), Chris Gilbert (Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends), Rolando Surita (Chief of Staff/Assistant AD) and Drew Svoboda (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator). More staffing hires will be announced soon.

Brophy comes to Denton following four seasons coaching and playing under Morris at Washington State and Incarnate Word. He was a graduate assistant at Wazzu in 2022. He played quarterback at UIW from 2017-19. He was instrumental in the development of UIW and Washington State standout quarterback Cameron Ward while working directly under Morris at both institutions.

A UNT Hall of Famer, Cobbs returns in 2023 for his fifth season as running backs coach. Over the last three years, North Texas running backs have finished in the Top 26 nationally in rushing including 3,035 yards in 2021 – the second most in program history.

Gilbert has a long history in Dallas-Fort Worth and joins the UNT staff following two seasons as Director of High School relations at Texas. The South Oak Cliff graduate served as head coach at his alma mater in addition to a stint at Terrell and a highly successful 10-year run leading the program at Lancaster. 

Surita is a longtime, trusted ally of Morris after serving on his staff for four seasons at UIW (2018-21) and last season at Washington State. He held the title of Chief of Staff at UIW in 2021 before taking a scouting role at Wazzu for 2022. A native of Houston, he earned degrees from both UTSA and UIW, and has extensive experience in both operations and player personnel.

Svoboda recently completed his second season on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama following stints at both Memphis and Rice where he led special teams units for both programs. At Alabama, he was special teams coordinator and tight ends coach in 2021 when the Crimson Tide produced one of the top units in the country. He transitioned to the role of Senior Special Assistant to the Head Coach in 2022.

Prior to moving on to the college ranks, Svoboda served as the Head Coach and Athletic Director at Klein Collins High School located in the Greater Houston area for 10 seasons. There he led the Tigers to five district crowns along with three undefeated regular seasons and trips to the state playoffs in eight of 10 seasons.