BREAKING: Hogs announce Morris out as coach; Lunney to serve as interim

Chad Morris said after a 45-19 loss to Western Kentucky on Saturday he was the man for the job of turning around Arkansas football.

Instead, he will be a footnote to the worst two years in program history.

Morris coached just 22 games and delivered miles of coachspeak doubletalk, but just four wins. None of them came over a Southeastern Conference opponent.

Despite his confidence he could turn things around, nothing appeared to change for the Razorbacks and, apparently, everyone finally threw their hands up over it all following the loss Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

Here is the press release from the UA:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas has made a change in leadership in its football program. Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek announced today that Chad Morris has been dismissed as the head football coach.

Morris was hired in December 2017 and was in his second season as the head coach of the Razorback football team. The Razorbacks had a 4-18 record in Morris’ tenure at Arkansas, including a 2-8 record this season.

“As part of my continued evaluation, I have come to the conclusion that a change in leadership is necessary to move our football program forward and position it for success,” Yurachek said. “It is clear that we have not made the progress necessary to compete and win, especially within the Southeastern Conference. Throughout our history in football, as well as with our other sport programs, we have demonstrated that the University of Arkansas is capable of being nationally competitive. I have no doubt that as we move forward, we will identify a head coach that will help lead our program to that benchmark.

“I want to express my personal and professional regard to Coach Morris and thank him for his investment in the lives of our student-athletes.”

Yurachek announced that a national search for the next head football coach will begin immediately. Assistant Coach and former Razorback quarterback Barry Lunney Jr. will serve as the interim head football coach for the remainder of the 2019 football season.

That was made worse because former Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey, who was part of a quarterback shuffle that saw six different players behind center, was the quarterback for the Hilltoppers and showed against the Hogs what fans had hoped for when he came out of Charleston.

Tight ends coach Barry Lunney, Jr., the Razorbacks’ longest-tenured assistant, serving as the interim coach. The Fort Smith native has been on staff since 2013 and was a four-year starting quarterback at Arkansas from 1992-95.

We will keep you updated on the details.

https://5newsonline.com/2019/11/10/chad-morris-fired-after-22-games-as-arkansas-coach/