Oklahoma State regents aiming to fire Chad Weiberg should consider Eric Morris' future

STILLWATER — Eric Morris climbed the stage after being introduced by Chad Weiberg, and their ceremonial handshake turned into a warm hug. Weiberg, while wading through his own contract uncertainty as Oklahoma State’s athletic director, oversaw a head coaching search in which the Cowboys landed one of the top names on the market. 

Ten months later, it’s increasingly clear that Weiberg aced the hire — the most consequential decision he’s made in five years as AD. Morris’ Cowboys are 3-1 and ranked 18th in the AP Poll. OSU’s season-opening clunker at Tulsa is but a distant memory after the Cowboys upset Oregon and West Virginia in back-to-back games. 

OSU, which hosts UCF on Saturday, is a legitimate Big 12 contender after consecutive winless seasons in conference play. 

Then comes the deluge of reports, sparked by Berry Tramel’s column in the Tulsa World, that Weiberg is back on the hot seat. 

Huh?

More: Oklahoma State football coach Eric Morris says working with Chad Weiberg is 'phenomenal'

Our own Jenni Carlson wrote a terrific piece on the absurdity of it all. Of how the Board of Regents is still upset that Weiberg didn’t fire Mike Gundy after the 2024 season (it’s almost 2027, folks). And of the murky power dynamics between the athletic department, the president’s office and the Regents. But amid the infighting and overstepping, has anyone considered how this must look to Morris?

“I’m not a big social media guy,” Morris said Tuesday when asked about the Weiberg speculation. “I don’t read stories. I got so many problems I’ve gotta fix on a day-to-day basis up here. I have my weekly meetings with Chad, and he’s been great as always.” 

All Morris has done is coach the Cowboys back to relevance only to find out that his boss, the guy who hired him, is tangled in a political mess. A mess that predates Morris. 

If OSU aims to keep Morris in Stillwater for years to come — an objective all of the “Loyal and True” can agree on — the Regents are sure making a lousy first impression. Now’s not the time to adopt the virtues of a second-tier SEC school. 

Here’s an alternate idea: Maybe don’t fire the athletic director who just hired your very impressive football coach. And wrestling coach. And women’s basketball coach. And a men’s basketball coach who’s trending up. 

But all of those sports pale in importance compared to football. Morris is the most important employee in OSU’s athletic department. And if he likes Weiberg (why wouldn’t he?), then everyone else should follow in line. 

It wasn’t even a year ago, at Morris’ introductory press conference, that OSU president Jim Hess congratulated Weiberg on conducting a “drama-free” search. That day I wrote about how Weiberg, who had recently (finally) signed a contract extension, stabilized OSU athletics by hiring Morris. 

That aged well. 

“I never felt any kind of anxiousness with him,” Morris said of Weiberg back in December. “I always felt like he was strategic, had a plan and was confident in his plan. I was always so comfortable with the conversations and the way they were directed. The more and more I got into it, my wife and I kept saying, ‘These are our type of people.’” 

On Tuesday, Morris described his working relationship with Weiberg as “phenomenal.”

Then the 40-year-old coach brought up one of his favorite words: momentum. 

“It’s super important for us to continue to build the momentum that we have right now,” Morris said. “I tell my players all the time, you get momentum in sports, you want to keep it. Other people are going to try to take it from you.” 

Know what else people are going to try to take away? Morris. If he keeps winning games, calls from bigger and better programs could come as soon as this winter. 

The last thing OSU needs to do is give Morris a reason to leave by doing something stupid. Something like firing Weiberg. 

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State regents aiming to fire Chad Weiberg should consider Eric Morris' future