Watch new Arkansas coach Chad Morris’ first Hog Call at the end of the press conference after his introduction Thursday.
Morris’ first press conference with media
New Arkansas coach Chad Morris met with the media for the first time after being introduced Thursday.
Five things you need to know about Chad Morris
It’s official. Chad Morris was named the 33rd head football coach in University of Arkansas history Wednesday. Here are five things you should know about the Hogs’ new head man.
1. Background — Born on December 4, 1968 in Edgewood, Texas, Morris attended Texas A&M University and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in statistics in 1992 but did not play college football.
He and his wife, Paula, have two children, a daughter, Mackenzie, and son, Chandler. After 16 years as a head coach at the high school level in Texas, Morris entered the college ranks in 2010 as Tulsa’s offensive coordinator and associate head coach.
He guided the offense to among the nation’s best, a big reason Tulsa improved from 5-7 in 2009 to 10-3 in 2010.
Following the 2010 season he headed to Clemson as Dabo Swinney’s offensive coordinator from 2011-14. Morris went on to get his first head coaching job at SMU, where he spent the last three seasons.
2. Explosive Offense — In Morris’ eight seasons as either a head coach or offensive coordinator, his teams have racked up 46,975 yards of total offense for a 460.5 per game average.
At least once at each of his three stops, he’s produced a top-10 offense a total of four times. Likewise, he’s produced an offense that’s averaged 40 or more points per game in four different seasons.
Under Morris’ fast-paced, no-huddle spread attack, Clemson shattered 127 offensive records (89 individual; 38 team) from 2010-14.
The Tigers also posted the top three scoring seasons in school history, as well as four of the program’s top five passing seasons, during that time.
This season, SMU ranks among the top 15 in the FBS in scoring offense (40.2 points), total offense (493.8 yards) and passing yards (308 yards).
3. Turned It Around — During his three seasons at SMU (2015-17), Morris used his Texas recruiting roots and offensive prowess to take the Mustangs from a 1-11 campaign in 2013 before he took over to the program’s first bowl bid since 2012 with a 7-5 mark this season.
Morris’ offensive scheme was exactly what SMU needed, as it increased its scoring output by 16.7 points per game — the second-largest increase in the nation in 2015.
Even more impressive, Morris inherited an offense that ranked last (128th) in the FBS in scoring in 2014 (11.8) and turned it into the nation’s eighth-highest scoring offensive (40.1) in 2017.
4. Prominent Pupils — Morris was the primary recruiter for and aided in the development of former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, led the Tigers to a national title in 2017, and went on to become a first-round NFL draft pick by the Houston Texans.
At Clemson, Morris also coached players like Tajh Boyd (drafted by the New York Jets), Andre Ellington (Arizona Cardinals), DeAndre Hopkins (Houston Texans), Sammy Watkins (Los Angeles Rams), Martavis Bryant (Pittsburgh Steelers), Dwayne Allen (New England Patriots), Tyler Shatley (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Brandon Thomas (Jacksonville Jaguars).
5. Texas Ties — Morris became a legend in Texas during his 16 years as a head coach in the state. He won 82 percent of his games and led Lake Travis High School to back-to-back, undefeated (16-0) state championship seasons.
He won three state titles overall and played in six state championship games. He totaled a 169-38 record (.816) and earned Coach of the Year honors 11 times.
Not just a home run, but a grand slam hire by Hogs
After three weeks of agony for Razorback fans, there’s finally a new coach in place.
Chad Morris is the pick and if Bret Bielema was supposed to a home run hire back in December 2012, this one is a grand slam.
Back in 2012, those saying Bielema was a great hire weren’t looking very close. It was a bad fit from an experience and a scheme standpoint. Not that he was a bad coach — in the Midwest and Big 10 — but seriously out of place in the SEC.
Morris was considered one of the top candidates for every job that came around after about 2012. At that time, though, he hadn’t been a head coach at the college level and if Jeff Long hadn’t got a love letter from Bielema he might very well have been in the mix then the way things were going.
Instead he went to SMU and took over a program that was 1-11. Rebuilding that is no easy task. SMU has higher entrance requirements than Vanderbilt and they do not cut a break to get good athletes in school.
He got them to 7-5 by the third year and early predictions of people that follow the American Athletic Conference put the Mustangs as a nine or 10-win team next year.
Yeah, he was 14-22 over three years at SMU and many of The Great Unwashed will throw that around as justification that this is not a good hire.
The coach he compares most to in Razorback history is Ken Hatfield, who became the winningest coach ever at Arkansas. He did it with good athletes. Some were great, but there were a lot of good ones.
In Hatfield’s first three years at Air Force, he was 14-21-1. His fourth year was 10-2 before coming back to Fayetteville.
By all accounts from those who know him well, Morris is a great recruiter and, more importantly, he’s a winner.
In his career he has shown a willingness to completely change his approach if it means winning. When he took over at Stephenville a couple of years after Art Briles left, he was a Power-I coach.
That wasn’t working, so he got interested watching Darren McFadden in the Wildcat, spent a lot of time with Gus Malzahn and came up with a spread offense that evolved into what is called the “smashmouth spread.”
It’s similar in many respects to what Malzahn’s offense is and includes a passing game that will evoke memories of some things Bobby Petrino did at Arkansas from 2008-11.
The guess here is he will win.
We’ve been told he has a defensive coordinator lined up that’s going to be a familiar name and will be surprising.
And, no, I have no idea who that might be. I could spitball some names but honestly there’s nothing known about any of them.
From everyone I’ve talked to in several states, this is a coach that is universally respected by high school coaches and others across the spectrum. Not one negative comment, which is highly unusual.
That’s one nice change we haven’t seen around here in about a decade. Let’s face it, both Petrino and Bielema had issues with some high school coaches, particularly in Texas where the Hogs’ recruiting has tailed off badly over the last decade or so.
Chad Morris is, simply, a winner.
Best promotions for ‘The Best Show in Town’
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will host five meets inside Barnhill Arena offering fans fun-filled themes and promotions for each of the home meets for the upcoming season.
Jan. 12 vs. Kentucky | Candyland
The Razorbacks’ home debut will feature a Candyland theme. The first 250 kids will receive candy bars with the chance of winning a special giveaway from 25 golden tickets. There will be a photo booth along with other candy themed giveaways throughout the meet.
Jan. 26 vs. Georgia | Pack The Barn, American Girl Doll Party
The Razorbacks will try and set a new home meet attendance record against Georgia as one of the most popular promotions from the past few years returns. The meet against the Bulldogs will feature six American Girl Doll giveaways and kids are encouraged to bring their own dolls to the meet.
Feb. 9 vs. Auburn | Daddy-Daughter Princess Date Night
The first 100 kids that attend Arkansas’ meet against Auburn will receive a light up tiara as costumed princesses will make appearances. Other princess-related promotions geared toward young girls will take place before and during the meet. All girls are encouraged to wear their favorite princess costumes as there will be an opportunity to take photos before the meet.
March 2 vs. Arizona | Pink Meet, Mommy-Daughter Girls Night Out
The annual Pink Meet will take place March 2 against Arizona as fans are encouraged to wear pink to support breast cancer awareness. Pink foam light sticks will be provided to fans as breast cancer survivors will be recognized during the opening ceremonies.
March 16 vs. Denver, Iowa State | Superhero Senior Night
A fan favorite from the 2017 season returns as all kids are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite superhero. The first 150 fans will receive a free custom Razorback superhero cape.
Season Tickets
The ticket office is now accepting new season ticket purchases for the upcoming 2018 season before single meet tickets go on sale. Fans have the option to purchase reserved or general admission seating. Single meet tickets will go on sale at a later date. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Razorback Ticket Center at 1-800-982-4647 or by clicking here.
2018 Ticket Options
- $40 » Reserved Seating
- $25 » General Admission
Holidays With The Hogs
Arkansas will host its final intrasquad meet dubbed “Holidays With The Hogs” December 17 inside Barnhill Arena beginning at 5 p.m. The meet will be free and open to the public with doors opening at 4 p.m. It will be the first time the Razorbacks will perform and be judged in front of fans this season.
