 Morris while playing for Texas Tech in 2008 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | North Texas |
| Conference | American |
| Record | 18–15 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1985-10-26)October 26, 1985 (age 40) Littlefield, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2004–2008 | Texas Tech |
| 2009 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2010 | Houston (AOQC) |
| 2011 | Houston (GA) |
| 2012 | Washington State (IWR) |
| 2013 | Texas Tech (co-OC/IWR) |
| 2014 | Texas Tech (OC/WR) |
| 2015–2017 | Texas Tech (OC/IWR) |
| 2018–2021 | Incarnate Word |
| 2022 | Washington State (OC/QB) |
| 2023–present | North Texas |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 42–33 |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
| Tournaments | 1–2 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2Southland (2018, 2021) | |
| Awards | |
| 2×Southland Coach of the Year (2018, 2021) AFCA Regional Coach of the Year (2018) Academic All-Big 12 (2007) All-Big 12 Second Team (2007) | |
Eric Morris (born October 26, 1985) is an Americanfootball coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at theUniversity of North Texas. He was previously the head football coach at theUniversity of the Incarnate Word and offensive coordinator atWashington State University.
Morris was born inLittlefield, Texas. He attendedShallowater High School inShallowater, Texas, where he played basketball and football at thewide receiver andquarterback positions. Shallowater won the Division 4-2A basketball title during his senior season. Morris's father, Ray, coached basketball at the school.[1]
Morris playedcollege football at thewide receiver position for theTexas Tech Red Raiders underMike Leach from 2004 to 2008. Known for being small and elusive, Morris earned the nickname of "the Elf" during his college playing career.[1] He was named first-team Academic All-Big 12 in 2007 and was second-team All-Big 12 for punt returning.
Morris was signed by theSaskatchewan Roughriders as astreet free agent in 2009. He was released in 2010.[2]
In 2010, Morris accepted a position as a graduate assistant for theHouston Cougars—a position at which he remained for two years.[3] In 2011, Morris accepted the position of wide receivers coach atWashington State under his former college coachMike Leach. Following the conclusion of the 2012 season, Morris accepted the position of co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at hisalma materTexas Tech under head coachKliff Kingsbury.[4]
Morris was promoted to full offensive coordinator following the departure ofSonny Cumbie in 2014.
Morris led an offense in 2015 that was ranked 2nd in the country in both total yardage and scoring.[5] The offense was led by Sophomore QBPatrick Mahomes who threw for 4,683 yards and 36 TDs and by RBDeAndré Washington who rushed for 1,492 yards and 16 TDs, Washington being the first 1,000-yard rusher at Texas Tech in more than a decade. Morris coached2016 NFL draft picksLe'Raven Clark,DeAndré Washington, andJakeem Grant.
On December 30, 2017, Morris was named head coach at theUniversity of the Incarnate Word (FCS) inSan Antonio, Texas.[6] In 2018, Morris' first season at UIW, he led the Cardinals to a 6–5 record, a share of theSouthland Conference championship, and anFCS Playoffs birth. Following a record-breaking season full of firsts for the UIW football program, Morris was selected as the 2018 Southland Conference Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award National Coach of the Year.[7]
Morris returned toPullman as offensive coordinator under head coachJake Dickert. He acted in that capacity for one season before leaving to take the North Texas head coaching job prior to the Cougars’ bowl game.[8]
On December 13, 2022, Morris was announced as the new head coach for theNorth Texas Mean Green.[9]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP/STATS° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incarnate Word Cardinals(Southland Conference)(2018–2021) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Incarnate Word | 6–5 | 6–2 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2019 | Incarnate Word | 5–7 | 4–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Incarnate Word | 3–3 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2021 | Incarnate Word | 10–3 | 7–1 | 1st | LNCAA Division I Second Round | 13 | 12 | ||
| Incarnate Word: | 24–18 | 20–11 | |||||||
| North Texas Mean Green(American Athletic Conference / American Conference)(2023–present) | |||||||||
| 2023 | North Texas | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–8th | |||||
| 2024 | North Texas | 6–7 | 3–5 | T–9th | LFirst Responder | ||||
| 2025 | North Texas | 7–1 | 3–1 | ||||||
| North Texas: | 18–15 | 9–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 42–33 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||