Report: Morris to Clemson |
CLEMSON – A week after making a change at offensive coordinator, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney feels he has found his man.
According to ESPN’s Joe Schad on Sunday morning, Clemson has hired Tulsa offensive coordinator Chad Morris to take the same position with the Tigers. Morris interviewed with Swinney last Monday and Tuesday, and even though Swinney interviewed TCU offensive coordinator Justin Fuente at the end of the week, it was obvious that Morris was his first choice. Morris had one of the most successful high school coaching careers in the state of Texas, and was named by Tulsa head coach Todd Graham as the offensive coordinator last January 18th. This season, his spread offense set several Golden Hurricane records – the Golden Hurricane finished fifth in the nation in total offense (505.62 yards per game), 8th in scoring offense (41.38 points per game), 15th in rushing offense (216.92 yards per game) and 13th in passing offense (288.69 yards per game). Morris served as a head coach on the Texas prep level for 16 years, coaching at Eustace Independent School District (1994-97), Elysian Field ISD (1998-99), Bay City ISD (2000-02), Stephenville ISD (2004-07) and Lake Travis ISD (2008-09). Since his first head coaching position at Eustace High School in 1994, Morris has taken six of his teams to the Texas state championship game, while three of those teams captured a state title. He has compiled an overall 169-38 record for an .816 winning percentage as a prep head coach, while earning Coach of the Year honors 11 times in his career. In the last two years, Morris led Lake Travis High School to back-to-back undefeated 16-0 seasons as well as two Class 4A state championships. Lake Travis was the state of Texas' number one-ranked offense in both 2008 and 2009. The 2008 team was the nation's second-ranked team by USA Today and eighth by Rivals.com, while the 2009 team ranked No. 2 nationally by Rivals.com and was ranked ninth by USA Today. Morris claimed his first state championship in 2000 when his Bay City team captured the Class 4A state title. Morris first implemented the hurry-up, no-huddle offense in 2004 at Stephenville High School, and since that time his teams have posted an overall 75-6 record. Morris' offenses enjoyed tremendous success in his two seasons at Lake Travis. In 2008, the Cavaliers averaged 49.0 points per game and had a 41-point margin of victory, while scoring 784 points, the fourth-most in Texas football history, and throwing for 305 yards per game. In that same 2008 campaign, Morris coached current University of Texas freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was named the Gatorade and Parade Magazine National Player of the Year, while setting the state of Texas' single-season passing yardage mark with 4,884 yards and 55 touchdowns. Gilbert also rushed for 790 yards and 28 TDs that season. Before compiling a 32-0 record in his two seasons at Lake Travis, Morris posted a five-year mark of 49-10 at Stephenville High School. At Stephenville, Morris tutored University of Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead. Following Snead quarterbacking at Stephenville High School, Morris coached quarterback Kody Spano, who plays at Nebraska, in 2006 and 2007. Spano threw for over 2,900 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a senior in 2007. Before moving to Stephenville, Morris' teams registered a three-year record of 34-8 at Bay City High School, while playing for the state championship two years (2000 and 2001) and winning the crown that first season with a 14-1 record. At Bay City, Morris coached quarterbacks Andrew Smith (2000) and Scott Elliott (2001-02). Smith went on to play at North Texas where he lead the Mean Green to a Bowl Game in his freshman season, while Elliott played collegiately at Tulane. Morris' Elysian High School teams advanced to the state championship game in each of his two seasons as the head coach, while posting a 26-6 two-year record. His first team in 1998 compiled a 12-4 record, while the 1999 team compiled a 14-2 mark. He received his first head coaching position at the Eustace Independent School District, where he led that high school team to an 11-1 record in his final season of four years as the head coach. Morris received his first coaching position at Eustace High School as the quarterback coach in 1992-93, before taking over the reigns as head coach in 1994. At Eustace, Morris also served as the head boys basketball coach for four seasons (1993-97) and posted a record of 128-32. Morris earned his bachelor's degree in Mathematics with a minor in Statistics from Texas A&M University in 1992. The Dallas, Texas native and his wife, Paula, have two children: daughter Mackenzie and son Chandler. Alma Mater: Texas A&M `92 Birthdate: December 4, 1968 Hometown: Edgewood, Texas College Coaching Experience: One year at Tulsa.
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