Eric Morris Turns 'Career Suicide' into Coaching Oklahoma State Football
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Eric Morris is now in charge of one of the biggest brands in the Big 12 Conference. And it needs a refresh.
After reaching the Big 12 Championship Game twice in the three-year span from 2021-23, Morris is now tasked with turning around a team that has won four games in the last two seasons. To do it, he's been given the keys to a massive operation, something that dwarfs what he had at North Texas. He recognizes that. All he has to do is look at the staff roster.
"Obviously me bringing a lot of my staff with me was huge," Morris said. "We have 42 new guys in our operations staff-wise. Thirty-five of those came with me."
But that's nothing compared to where his head-coaching career started.
The 'Career-Suicide' First Job
Morris was the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach under then-head coach Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech. After the 2017 season he decided to gamble on his first head coaching job. He took the gig at Incarnate Word, a private school in San Antonio that was playing in the Southland Conference in FCS.
Morris took over what in practicality was a start-up. The Cardinals started playing football in 2009 as a Division II independent, joined the Lone Star Conference in 2010 and moved up to FCS in 2013 as an independent before joining the Southland in 2014.
When he took over the Cardinals had gone 30-47. He referenced that job during his Q&A session at Big 12 media days when asked about the resources he had at OSU.
"You know, when you look at Incarnate Word, where I started, a bunch of people told me that was career suicide when I took that job," Morris said. "That gave me motivation every day to prove people wrong."
Morris did just that. He took a program destined to be a doormat and made it a winner right away. The Cardinals were Southland co-champions his first season and made the playoffs. They won 10 games and the Southland title in 2021, along with winning their first FCS playoff game. He took the Washington State offensive coordinator job and had a 24-18 record.
His successors have maintained the standard he set. G.J. Kinne went 12-2 in 2022, won the Southland and led the Cardinals to the FCS semifinals before taking the job at Texas State. His replacement, Clint Killough, is entering his fourth season with a 25-12 record and a 2024 Southland title.
The job that many told him was career suicide taught him something about the urgency needed to win. It's why Morris isn't looking for small wins in year one. He's looking the flip the Cowboys into winners right away.
"Yeah, there's definitely urgency from me right now just because I love winning, and I love competing," he said. "As soon as there's not urgency from me to put out a good product, I'm going to find something else to do with my time."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Eric Morris Turns 'Career Suicide' into Coaching Oklahoma State Football.
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