Auburn Football: Is Chad Morris a good hire?

When this move was announced, it drew anger from Auburn football fans. Many assumed Coach Malzahn had doomed Auburn football to another season of preseason hype followed by heartbreak.

The main cause of concern was two years of failure he had as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele (9-36 as a head coach) can attest, running a team Is different from just coordinating.

Coaching Career

Coach Morris became a college coach in 2010. He was hired as the offensive coordinator at the University of Tulsa. Morris took them from 44th nationally to 6th in scoring offense. This stop would last one season when Clemson hired him for the same position he held at Tulsa.

During his time at Clemson, he would post three seasons in the top 30 nationally in scoring going as high as sixth in 2012. During his worst season there he ranked 53rd in scoring during the 2014 season. This was after losing freshman Deshaun Watson to several injuries.

This wouldn’t deter him from becoming a head coach when SMU hired him prior to the 2015 season. In three seasons as the head coach there, he turned the mustangs from the doormat of CFB (last in offense and defense in scoring in 2014) to a serious team, taking them from 1-11 in 2014 to a 7-6 during his last season there. He took the head coaching job at Arkansas after that season.

Morris is statistically one of the worst coaches in Arkansas history (14-22 in less than two seasons). This failure is largely because of a roster devoid of talent he got from former coach Brett Bielema.  

Overall, Coach Morris leaves every team better than before. The existing team he’s taking the reigns of is far more suited to his offense than any other team he has coached. Coach Morris runs a similar offense to Coach Malzahn.

Where the two differ is developing quarterbacks. Morris has a history of getting the most out of everyone in his offense. Morris is mostly the cause of the dominant passing by Clemson during the last decade.

He turned Tahj Boyd into one of the best passers in school history. Boyd threw 103 touchdown passes and 11, 575 yards while completing 65 percent of his career passes. He also recruited future Heisman Trophy winner Deshaun Watson.

Coach Morris will benefit Bo Nix, a quarterback who drew rave reviews as a freshman. He faced no shortage of elite opponents, beating Oregon while throwing the game-winning touchdown to Seth Williams.

Morris will get back to his old ways and have a special season for Auburn Football. This will erase any doubts about Morris’s hiring.

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