Okla. State hires UNT's Morris to revive program

Eric Morris, who has led North Texas to a 10-1 record this season, has been hired as the next coach at Oklahoma State, it was announced Tuesday.

Morris will remain with the Mean Green for the rest of the regular season as well as any potential appearances in the American Conference title game and College Football Playoff.

He will take over an Oklahoma State program in a rut. The Cowboys (1-10) haven’t won a Big 12 game over the past two seasons, going 0-17 in conference play during that time, heading into Saturday’s season finale against Iowa State.

“Today begins the next era of Oklahoma State football,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a statement. “… Coach Morris has proven his ability to build and lead winning football programs. He has consistently identified, recruited, and developed some of the best players in college football.”

The Mean Green, who host Temple in the regular-season finale Friday, are in a three-way tie with Navy and Tulane atop the American Conference standings.

North Texas has been preparing for Morris’ potential departure, and a search is underway for potential replacements. The school’s location north of Dallas has helped it emerge as an attractive Group of 5 job in recent years.

“I want to express our deep gratitude to Eric for everything he has done for Mean Green Football over the past three seasons,” UNT athletic director Jared Mosley said in a statement. “He took over at one of the most chaotic times in college athletics and brought great success on the field, including two bowl-eligible seasons and the program’s first national ranking in over six decades, while our student-athletes excelled in the classroom and in the Denton community.”

Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham, 60, has been serving as Oklahoma State’s interim head coach since Mike Gundy was fired Sept. 23 after 21 seasons.

Gundy, the program’s winningest coach, compiled a remarkable 170-90 record with the Cowboys. The team’s first home loss to Tulsa since 1951, which followed a 69-3 destruction at the hands of Oregon, spelled the end for Gundy, who led his alma mater to nine AP top-20 finishes between 2008 and 2021.

Under Morris, North Texas has the country’s No. 1 offense at 503.3 yards per game this year. The Mean Green have scored at least 50 points in six games this season and are the only team in FBS to have scored at least 30 points in every game this season.

Morris has emerged as a hot coach on the landscape because of his extensive history of identifying and developing star quarterbacks. Morris’ most recent find, Drew Mestemaker, is a first-year starter who leads the nation with 3,469 passing yards. He has thrown 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

The discovery of Mestemaker, who didn’t play varsity high school quarterback, has only added to Morris’ lore as a quarterback whisperer.

Last season, UNT quarterback Chandler Morris (no relation) was fifth in the FBS with 314.5 passing yards per game. He transferred to Virginia after the 2024 season.

As a coordinator at Washington State, Eric Morris signed John Mateer. And when he was head coach at Incarnate Word, he signed Cam Ward (and later took Ward to Washington State when he moved there as the offensive coordinator).

Morris also helped sign Baker Mayfield as a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech and was the offensive coordinator at Tech during Patrick Mahomes‘ three years with the Red Raiders.

“For many reasons, including the kind of person he is and the lasting relationships he builds with his players, Coach Morris is the perfect fit as the next leader of Cowboy football,” Weiberg said.

Morris is 21-15 in three years at North Texas. As the head coach at Incarnate Word, he went 24-18 with two FCS playoff appearances.

ESPN’s Eli Lederman contributed to this report.