Much is being made of the Chad Morris-Gus Malzahn relationship and what it means for the direction and leadership of Auburn’s offense. Will Malzahn continue to be the primary play-caller, or will the duties be shared? How much input and control will Morris have? It’s expected to be more so than coordinators past under Malzahn that served heavily as consultants, but again, it remains to be seen.
But the job of offensive coordinator isn’t the only role Auburn hired the former Arkansas and SMU head coach for Tuesday afternoon. He’ll also be taking over the quarterbacks room in an inexperienced but promising time in that department for the Tigers.
And the success of quarterbacks under Morris’ tutelage at past stops should excite rising sophomore Bo Nix and the future of Auburn under center. Morris has a long history of recruiting, developing and producing successful quarterbacks in his offense. It begins at the high-school ranks and ends with an NFL MVP candidate.
As a Texas high school coach at Stephenville and Lake Travis, Morris’ direction helped the late Jevan Snead and Garrett Gilbert become an Elite 11 quarterback and the first Texas native to be named Gatorade National Player of the Year, respectively. Both signed with the Texas Longhorns as blue-chip prospects sought after by most big programs, and Gilbert has been an NFL quarterback on an active roster since 2017.
Morris then got his college coaching break as Tulsa’s offensive coordinator in 2010 — a position that was Malzahn’s three years prior. In his first and only year with the Golden Hurricane, Morris’ quarterback, G.J. Kinne, threw for more than 3,500 yards with 31 touchdowns.
A struggling Clemson offense — if that can be imagined — took notice and lured Morris away. The results were staggering for Dabo Swinney’s team.
Morris implemented his rapid-fire, hurry-up offense with quarterback Tajh Boyd, who blossomed in the system. Boyd threw for 11,904 yards and 107 touchdowns in his three seasons as a starter under Morris, twice being named first team All-ACC and taking home ACC Player of the Year in 2012.
While the product on the field was turning around an offense that was an ACC bottom-feeder upon Morris’ arrival into a national powerhouse, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach was also planning for the future.
As has been well documented, Morris was the first to offer Deshaun Watson out of Gainesville, Ga., and that relationship ultimately led to Watson’s signing with Clemson.
While Morris was only around for Watson’s freshman year before leaving to become the head coach at SMU, the groundwork he laid for the program’s offense led to unprecedented success for Clemson and its offense. Watson won ACC Player of the Year, was twice a Heisman finalist, won a national championship and is widely considered the top quarterback in Clemson history.
Watson became a first-round NFL draft pick and is currently an MVP candidate with the Houston Texans.
That was the last time Morris was an assistant, but some of his best work as an offensive mind quietly came in the following years. As SMU’s head coach, he turned around an offense that was second-worst in college football in yardage production upon his arrival.
By the time Morris left for Arkansas in 2017, the Mustangs were the 13th-best total
offense in the nation.
With the Mustangs, Morris had quarterback Ben Hicks, who was throwing for 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns by the time the two departed together for Fayetteville.
At Arkansas, Morris looked to complete a 180 with the Razorbacks offense, turning a big, run-heavy group left behind by former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema into a spread, hurry-up system. A year and a half proved not long enough to complete the turnaround, as Morris was canned in November after posting no SEC or Power-5 victories in 22 games coached.
Auburn now provides Morris an opportunity to prove he’s still got it, and he’ll be working with the top freshman quarterback in program history to do so. Nix passed more in 2019 than any quarterback under Malzahn at Auburn, and that may not be the worst thing for Morris, whose offenses always lean on a potent air attack for success.
Predictability in the passing game has been a common knock for Malzahn. Nix took his lumps against some tough defenses, but also turned in big performances when counted on late in the season, namely against Alabama and Georgia.
And for all the other reasons Auburn views Morris as a successful hire, helping to develop Nix into the great quarterback the Tigers think he can become — as has been commonplace for Morris to successfully achieve in his career — is near the top of the list.
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