How Oklahoma State president Jim Hess reacted to approval of Eric Morris' contract

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STILLWATER — Though not usually of his own doing, Jim Hess’ tenure as university president at Oklahoma State has often been sprinkled with a touch of chaos.

He took over last February after the unexpected resignation of former president Kayse Shrum, oversaw a situation in which athletic director Chad Weiberg went months without a contract, and worked with Weiberg through the firing of longtime football coach Mike Gundy.

So when Hess offered up the contract of new football coach Eric Morris to the OSU/A&M Colleges Board of Regents for approval at their regular meeting Friday, it came with a unique feeling.

“Relieved,” Hess said after the board approved Morris’ five-year deal that will pay the coach a base salary of $3.8 million in 2026. “We’re deeply grateful to Chad Weiberg, our athletic director. He was heavily engaged. Obviously, we were entering the coaching search before others, due to some previous actions that we took. 

“That was helpful to us, because excluding us, there were still 12 other schools who were ultimately looking for coaches. Because of the number of coaching searches that were ongoing, we felt it important that we get ours done quickly.”

More: New Oklahoma State football coach Eric Morris' passion for team, players shows in his work

OSU wasn’t the first major program to make a hire when it signed Morris on Nov. 25, but Weiberg still secured the deal days before the coaching carousel began spinning out of control.

The decision to fire Gundy three weeks into the season was only beneficial if the school could pull off a hiring without getting swept up in the drama that swirled around programs like LSU, Penn State, Arkansas, Auburn and others in recent days.

“The board is very excited and looking forward to the future of Coach Morris, but we’d really like to thank President Hess and especially AD Chad Weiberg for moving quickly and decisively in a coaching market that had been unseen in recent memory,” said regent Chris Franklin, who oversees the board’s athletic committee. 

“The way they executed, made a decision, and we think we got the best candidate in the country. We’re excited about what he’s going to do. We’re behind our leadership and proud of our leadership.”

It also became clear early in the season that the number of worthy candidates would be low, making a quick hire even more important.

“We knew that Coach Morris would be an asset people would be excited to have,” Hess said. “We wouldn’t be the only ones excited to have Coach Morris. We were keenly interested in him from the start. Not only because of the success he’s had at the University of North Texas — that’s certainly a factor — but the greatest factor is because of the person he is. 

“He’s humble. He has a deep belief and dedication in his players, not as athletes but as individuals, as human beings. I was deeply impressed by that.”

Beyond his coaching ability, Hess pointed to Morris’ fit at OSU from a cultural perspective.

“He has great coaching ability, but more importantly, he’s a great human being,” Hess said. “He will fit our culture like a glove. He is exemplary of the kind of value system that we look for in a coach and I think he’ll do a great job for us. 

“He’ll inspire our players, our fans and our donors and alums. He’s gonna do a great job for us. I couldn’t be more excited.”

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: How Oklahoma State president Jim Hess reacted to hiring of Eric Morris

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