SMU Football: Hiring Morris a Bold Move, but the Right One

Southern Methodist football is in shambles. After June Jones elected to resign from his post as head coach only two games into the 2014 season, the Mustangs were left with an interim coach and a roster with a paucity of real talent.

They have not won a game this year, and their average margin of defeat is more than 34 points. The offense has been pitiful and the defense has been porous—there is really no nice way to put it.

However, the team made a bold move on Thursday evening, hiring former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris to rebuild the struggling program. The news was first reported by Clint Brewster of 247Sports, and Chip Brown of HornsDigest.com reported that Morris will make approximately $3 million per year.

In six years and two games at SMU, Jones’ record was 36-43—pretty impressive considering the Mustangs have still not recovered from the death penalty ruling they got in 1987 for breaking NCAA rules.

The Mustangs went to a bowl game in four straight years under Jones, an amazing feat considering they hadn’t been to one in 25 years before 2009.

But it will be an uphill battle for Morris—there is no question about it. He is known for his innovative offensive schemes, and he is going to need every bit of deception to get the SMU offense to produce in his first few years on the job.

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The thing that Morris has going for him that has made him an enticing candidate is his rich Texas roots. He assembled a staunch resume at the high school level, winning a state championship at Bay City and then grooming Jevan Snead into a Division I quarterback at Stephenville before moving on to Austin Lake Travis, one of the most decorated football programs in the state.

He coached there for two seasons, going 16-0 and winning the state championship in both 2008 and 2009. He helped Garrett Gilbert set the state records for passing yards in a season and career passing yards, both records previously held by former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell.

Then Morris moved to the college level, where he was the offensive coordinator at Tulsa for one season before moving to Clemson in 2011.

At Clemson, his offenses experienced phenomenal success. He molded Tajh Boyd into a record-setting college quarterback and sent wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins to the NFL.

SMU is obviously not afraid of the 45-year-old Morris’ inexperience. He has never been a collegiate head coach and has only been at the college level for five seasons.

However, Morris’ most valuable asset might be his recruiting potential in Texas, arguably the most talent-rich state in the country. He knows the state of Texas and should be able to lure talented athletes to Dallas.

Morris has been in the conversation for several jobs, most notably Texas Tech (per ESPN.com) after Tommy Tuberville’s departure, but it has always been hard to lure him away from his gig as the highest-paid assistant in all of college football.

Finally, though, he found a match he liked.

Expectations shouldn’t be too high. If he can somehow manage to get the Mustangs to be a .500 team, it would be a miracle. He won’t have much to work with in his first year on the job, but he does have Matt Davis, a heralded dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school back in 2012.

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Davis, the third-ranked dual-threat quarterback in his class according to Rivals.com, originally committed to Texas A&M. But he transferred to Tyler Junior College after he redshirted his first year at A&M, and after one year of JUCO action, he arrived at SMU. He will be a junior in 2015, and his athleticism projects well in Morris’ offense.

The Mustangs’ recruiting haul is unimpressive, but they do have commits from Kyle Kearns, the 12th-best pocket passer according to 247Sports, as well as 4-star receiver James Proche II.

Chip Brown of HornsDigest tweeted that his sources tell him that SMU will let Morris begin recruiting very soon, in hopes of swaying some of the uncommitted prep players interested in SMU.

This move benefits both parties involved. SMU gets a young, passionate coach full of potential, and Morris gets his first opportunity as a college head coach in the same state where he built his reputation.

It will be interesting to see if Morris’ offense will be effective with mediocre players and if Morris can recruit as a head coach. Sure, he coaxed plenty of offensive players to Clemson, but he had Dabo Swinney there to help out.

Now, Morris is the main man. It is his responsibility not only to recruit players to fit his offense but to recruit defensive players as well.

Also, he will not be able to spend all his time in practice working with the offense. He will have to learn to delegate some of those duties to trusted assistants.

There is definitely going to be a learning curve, but Morris and SMU is a good match and one that could reap rewards down the road.