Morris Leaving is Same Old Story for TU

The latest Golden Hurricane coaching departure sends TU into another offseason of musical chairs.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:08 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 9, 2011 6:7 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

TULSA, Oklahoma – I had a sneaking suspicion that this would happen. I was scheduled to interview Chad Morris on Friday about his first year at Tulsa. I wanted to ask him about elevating TU to the 5th ranked offense in the nation.

Then he didn’t show.

It’s uncertain if Morris intended to be there all along or if he was never going to be in town from the get-go. My hunch is the latter. If Clemson hires Morris on Sunday, there’s no doubt they were prepared to do it on Friday.

It was rumored that Morris was on the short list to take over as offensive coordinator at a handful of schools around the country. He’s a brilliant football mind that proved himself on the Golden Hurricane sidelines in his first collegiate season. The OSU Cowboys recognized his brains and even poked around the possibility of him replacing Dana Holgorsen.

Is he a one-hit wonder? That’s the Tigers’ problem now. I doubt he will be a bust in the ACC. The athletes are too good and the support is too great. The future is probably bright for Morris at Clemson.

That doesn’t ease the pain for Tulsa fans. This fall will be the fourth straight season that the Golden Hurricane will start the year with a new offensive coordinator. They could even be looking for a new head coach.

But, Morris was great while he lasted. He guided the team to over 41 points per game and mind-bending yardage. He left his mark on this program and made the players better in his time here.

All three state schools are in the same boat now. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa will all take the field with different minds under the offensive coordinator headset in 2011. The search begins in earnest to find Morris’ replacement. Tulsa is used to this yearly routine, but that doesn’t make it any easier.