Chad Morris Named New Auburn Offensive Coordinator
Gus Malzahn has hired former Arkansas head coach and close friend Chad Morris as the new offensive coordinator for the Tigers. Morris will replace Kenny Dillingham. Dillingham leaves Auburn after just one season to reunite with Mike Norvell at Florida State. Norvell was announced on Sunday as the new head coach in Tallahassee. Dillingham served as offensive coordinator for the Memphis Tigers in 2018 under Norvell.
Who is Chad Morris?
The path that Chad Morris took to college football head coach is very similar to one taken by his new boss Gus Malzahn. Like Malzahn, Morris spent many years as a high school football coach before making the leap to the next level. Morris spent 16 years in the state of Texas compiling a 169-38 record with multiple state championships.
The path would lead him to become the offensive coordinator at Tulsa in 2010 and then the same role for Clemson from 2011-2014. During that stretch Clemson went 42-11 and averaged 36. 3 points per game. Those teams did not win national championships like the 2016 and 2018 Tigers teams, but those squads set the foundation for what the Clemson Tigers become. Morris went on to become the head coach at SMU and then Arkansas. His overall head coaching record is 18-40 and he was fired from Arkansas on November 10th after a 45-19 loss to Western Kentucky.
Quarterbacks
A key part of the job for Morris will be furthering the development of Bo Nix. Nix had his struggles in some of Auburn’s key games this season in match-ups with top ten teams. The last month of the season though Nix showed that he had improved and was much better at taking care of the ball. That trend will need to continue for Auburn to take the next step, and Morris should be able to help with that. While at Clemson, Morris worked with quarterbacks Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson.
Auburn is also needing to find some depth at quarterback as well. Nix is without question the starter for the next two seasons, but quality depth behind him is pivotal. With Morris in the fold now, that could lead to his son Chandler Morris signing with the Tigers. Chandler Morris is a four-star dual threat prospect out of Dallas, Texas and if he followed his father to the Plains that would be another big addition for Auburn.
Who Calls the Plays?
After the 2018 season Gus Malzahn took over the play-calling duties once again after a few seasons of relinquishing that role. Chad Morris would want to have a more active role than what Dillingham had this season. It will be interesting how much control over the offense he will get.
