When Chad Morris was hired in December 2017 he asked fans to give him a chance as the Arkansas football coach.
“I won’t let you down,” he said at his opening press conference.
Most fans were willing to let 0-8 and 2-10 in his first year slide, but after going backwards from last year, can he survive a OH-and-16 start in SEC games?
At this point some fans are wondering if he can survive Colorado State and San Jose State. But if this team couldn’t do much with opportunities against an Ole Miss team that lost to Memphis last week, where is the league win this year?
More importantly, Saturday’s debacle in Oxford in a 31-17 loss to Ole Miss where the offense failed to produce a single touchdown when it mattered is going to stretch even the most optimistic.
If Morris says, “I get it” at his press conference Monday following two games of complete ineptitude from coaching to players, then it’s proof, indeed, he does NOT get it.
There’s no other explanation.
And, yes, it’s gotten that bad.
The Razorbacks aren’t making progress. No, they’re going backwards.
What in the world is the positive for Morris after a 2-12 start to his tenure in Fayetteville?
Recruiting is one part of it, but if you don’t develop the players you have, well, you end up staring in the face of a start that is going to make the seat upon which Morris sits the hottest we’ve seen in awhile.
It’s even worse than what the fans in Tennessee are dealing with, not that they particularly have time to be worrying about the Hogs right now.
Did Morris ignore what many felt was obvious in going with Ben Hicks over Nick Starkel from the start this season?
Or even not putting the quarterback that put the team in the end zone the most in preseason scrimmages by sitting John Stephen Jones through the first two games?
Against the Rebels, Hicks misfired on two passes that would likely have been scores. That was 14 points … gone.
Remember the final margin was 14 points and that’s not even taking into account any momentum swings those two scores would have provided.
While I have given Morris the benefit of the doubt because people that know far more about college football than me said he was the perfect guy for the job.
Now, in fairness, they didn’t tell me how long it would take for him to be the perfect guy for the job, but he’s headed towards the worst start in the history of Razorback football.
Not just recent history, but the entire history.
There will be people encouraging fans to not over-react … and there is a scenario I might agree with that. Morris isn’t exactly helping his case.
Saturday night, the Hogs looked like a team that hadn’t seen a practice field in the first half against an Ole Miss team that didn’t look particularly imposing until a lack of firepower gave them hope.
By the time Morris went for the Starkel Sparkle to start the second half, it took nearly two quarters for any sort of timing and rhythm to be developed.
By then it was too little too late.
It could be argued this staff has spent considerable time and resources bringing in better players, which they have been fairly successful doing.
But it doesn’t matter if you can’t “coach ’em up,” as Steve Spurrier used to say.
Granted, Morris didn’t inherit a lot of offensive linemen in either numbers or talent. They were some pretty good guys, but simply not that good.
But he also isn’t showing much in the way of improvement.
Or doing anything to earn the trust of the fans he asked for when he was hired.
A 3-11 start to his tenure in Fayetteville is stretching the faith of a lot of Hog fans.
And it was already getting thin.
