Eric Morris energizes Oklahoma State football faithful in new coach's formal introduction
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STILLWATER — Eric Morris is a “win football games” hire, not a “win the press conference” hire for Oklahoma State.
But the new head Cowboy certainly won the press conference, at least metaphorically.
Bring back Bedlam?
“I welcome it with open arms,” Morris said.
Take the Pokes back to contending for championships?
“Hell yeah, we can win a damn championship here,” he said during his official introductory pep rally at the OSU Alumni Center on Monday afternoon.
The room had a few hundred chairs but more than half the crowd had to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with more than 1,000 fans and alumni in attendance.
“I wanna start this thing with a ‘Go Pokes!’” Morris said as he stepped to the podium. “What an honor it is for me today to be standing in front of you as the new head coach at Oklahoma State. This is truly a dream come true for me, for my family.”
Hired to replace the legendary Mike Gundy, who was fired in September, the 40-year-old Morris took his first tour of the interior of Boone Pickens Stadium — a place where he says he’s winless in seven trips as the visitor — Sunday afternoon, and was officially introduced to great fanfare Monday.
Among the reasons he cited that drew him to OSU after three successful seasons building his program at North Texas was the personal alignment he felt with the leadership at OSU and within the Stillwater community.
“We want to embrace ourselves in this community,” said the Morris, who agreed to a five-year contract that will pay him $3.8 million per year. “My kids will be going to Stillwater Public Schools. It’s something we believe in. My father is a public educator.
“We believe in small-town people. I’ve already had people reach out from the community, from the school system, already trying to help us out and making sure this transition is so seamless for me and my family.”
What about Bedlam?
Morris had discussed his pitch to bring back Bedlam with OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg before taking the microphone Monday.
So Weiberg wasn’t taken aback by his new coach’s thoughts.
“Our position has not changed on that,” Weiberg said. “We’re not against playing that game. It just has to work out for the schedules. They’ve got new scheduling parameters now. We’ll continue to have to work through when the timing is right.”
With OSU’s current scheduling philosophy of including only one Power Four non-conference opponent per year, the Cowboys’ first vacancy would be 2030-31, though that spot is filled for 2032-35.
OU’s future schedules include a Power Four opponent every year through 2030, then the spot is filled again in 2035-36.
Eric Morris assesses recruiting class
With the help of general manager Raj Murti and a few others in the player personnel department, Morris signed 15 players in the early signing period last week.
But with only four days to do it, and a game to coach at North Texas, Morris’ attention was split.
But he was pleased with the group of signees the Cowboys brought in — primarily thanks to Murti and his staff.
“Rosters are ever-changing nowadays,” he said. “The fluidity to have somebody who is a little bit of a forward thinker is important in this.
“He’s done the personnel side in this conference at TCU and Houston.”
Murti is only 24 but has already established himself as a rising star in the college football front office world, and will be a key to Morris’ ability to quickly turn OSU around after winning four games over the last two seasons.
“I think there’s definitely a formula to success right now,” Morris said. “I think we’re seeing that with the parity in college football right now. You’re seeing what Indiana is able to do. They’ve lost more games than any school in the history of college football, and all of a sudden, they’re sitting at No. 1.
“They’ve done it with the transfer portal, and they’ve done it with developing and retaining players.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU football coach Eric Morris ignites energy in formal introduction
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