Arkansas fired football coach Chad Morris on Sunday after 22 games and no Southeastern Conference victories over nearly two lackluster seasons.
Morris finished 4-18 and 0-14 in the SEC. Arkansas made the move less than 24 hours after the Razorbacks lost 45-19 at home to a Western Kentucky team quarterbacked by former Razorback Ty Storey. Morris' only victories came again Eastern Illinois, Portland State — two FCS teams — Tulsa and Colorado State.
"As part of my continued evaluation, I have come to the conclusion that a change in leadership is necessary to move our football program forward and position it for success," athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. "It is clear that we have not made the progress necessary to compete and win, especially within the Southeastern Conference."
Morris is the second Power Five coach to be fired after last than two seasons on the job in eight days. Florida State fired Willie Taggart after 21 games last Sunday.
A year after a $160 million stadium renovation and expansion, Arkansas had its two lowest-attended games since a previous expansion in 2001.
Morris was hired from SMU in December 2017 after Arkansas fired Bret Bielema. SMU went 14-22 in Morris' three seasons in Dallas, though the Mustangs improved each year, capping at 7-5 in 2017. Before that, Morris was offensive coordinator at Clemson.
Morris, a Texas native, was a successful high school coach for years before becoming offensive coordinator at Tulsa. After one year, he was hired away by Clemson, where he coached and recruited Deshaun Watson.
Morris was Arkansas' choice after former Razorbacks offensive coordinator and current Auburn coach Gus Malzahn declined it. Morris was hired on Dec. 6, 2017, just weeks after Arkansas hired Yurachek.
Arkansas owes Morris just over $10 million in buying out his contract. The university is still paying Bielema as part of an $11.8 million buyout. Earlier this month, the Razorback Foundation, a private organization which handles payments for the buyout, asked Bielema to repay the $4.2 million paid him so far, believing Bielema's job as defensive line coach for the New England Patriots negated the terms of the deal.
Yurachek said a national search for the next coach will begin immediately. Assistant coach and former Razorback quarterback Barry Lunney Jr. will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
They had no choice.
Arkansas had turned into one of, if not the worst teams in modern SEC history.
Please note...Western Kentucky got beat by Central Arkansas to start the season. It's not like they were a dynamic team or anything.
All Chad had to do was beat the nonconference teams, which should be cake walks, and look competitive against the lower half of the SEC West. Giving up historic yards and points against the second worst team in the west, MSU, and then getting obliterated by Western Kentucky deserves an automatic firing. Not sure the AD wanted Morris breaking the all time consecutive SEC losses record by the end of the season either.
Jerry Jones, the bag men and the B.O.D. will not conduct this search.
Firing a coach after two season is just a terrible standard as it is hard to convince decent coaches that they will have the chance to turn the situation around. That is why even with Coach Pruitt’s woes early this season that he had to be retained for at least one more year.
The thing that did Morris in was the fan apathy.
(11-11-2019 08:15 AM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ]Firing a coach after two season is just a terrible standard as it is hard to convince decent coaches that they will have the chance to turn the situation around. That is why even with Coach Pruitt’s woes early this season that he had to be retained for at least one more year.
The thing that did Morris in was the fan apathy.
It's a terrible standard if there's some sign of progress or if there's a reasonable degree of competency being displayed. Tennessee started off fairly poor, but improved.
Arkansas started off poorly, improved a tad, and then totally bottomed out. I think it's safe to say this team had quit on Chad Morris, but that was just the icing on the cake. It's bad enough to be upset by a Sun Belt team, but when you're getting annihilated by one then that's a level of incompetence that can't be overstated. It wasn't an aberration either.
I watched the Alabama/Arkansas game in person a few weeks ago and I was stunned by the lack of fight in that team. I figured with Tua out that maybe the Hogs would put their best foot forward and hope for the best. Not that I expected it to be terribly competitive at the end of the day, but I expected Arkansas to believe in themselves. It didn't happen.
I've been to plenty of Alabama/Arkansas games over the years and I've never seen one that just didn't want to be there. It wasn't that long ago that this was a pretty competitive series. Saban has changed a lot on our end obviously, but Arkansas has been trending down for a while.
It's never ideal to fire a coach, but I think back to the time Alabama fired Mike Price. The man literally never coached a game for us, but he was irresponsible behind closed doors and embarrassed the University. He had to go, no bones about it.
It's not the same situation, but the point is that if you're going to put your time and money into an endeavor then you've got to make sure everyone's pulling their weight. It became clear Morris was doing more harm than good.
Arkansas deserves better than what they've got right now.
As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
(11-11-2019 11:24 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: [ -> ]As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
He’d be great for Arkansas as would the Appalachian State coach, Kansas State HC, Baylor HC and UAB HC. I would love to see Lane Kiffen just to watch him and Saban go at it yearly; plus Lane grabbing a few South Florida recruits would help.
Not a fan of Leach. He invented the air raid, but his win-loss records are not all that great. Don’t want Gus, he’d be ok building the program up but this ceiling won’t reach Atlanta imho—that and Jimmy Sexton is gonna milk Auburn for all the money they can.
I don't think South Carolina is far behind.
Didn't it take 3 years for Morris to get something going at SMU? That was a huge rebuilding job, but SMU could tap some good recruits in that region.
Morris wasn't showing any sustained progress at Arkansas, and enthusiasm for his leadership waned.
He could end up back on the Clemson staff at some point.
(11-12-2019 12:44 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-11-2019 11:24 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: [ -> ]As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
He’d be great for Arkansas as would the Appalachian State coach, Kansas State HC, Baylor HC and UAB HC. I would love to see Lane Kiffen just to watch him and Saban go at it yearly; plus Lane grabbing a few South Florida recruits would help.
Not a fan of Leach. He invented the air raid, but his win-loss records are not all that great. Don’t want Gus, he’d be ok building the program up but this ceiling won’t reach Atlanta imho—that and Jimmy Sexton is gonna milk Auburn for all the money they can.
I can see Auburn firing Gus if they lose to Georgia. Auburn has already reached that ceiling you referred to, and quite frankly, really needs someone else. Chad Morris being fired by Arkansas indicates that the Hogs need a program builder- enter Gus Malzahn, who turns around Arkansas just like Mark Richt turned around Miami, and then Gus moves into doing commentaries for the SEC Network. Not sure who Auburn would go after, though Mike Norvell is a possibility, and Auburn could probably easily lure him away, but I see Auburn going for Kirby Smart-type coach, and I don't know if Norvell fits that billing or not.
(11-13-2019 02:15 AM)DawgNBama Wrote: [ -> ] (11-12-2019 12:44 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-11-2019 11:24 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: [ -> ]As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
He’d be great for Arkansas as would the Appalachian State coach, Kansas State HC, Baylor HC and UAB HC. I would love to see Lane Kiffen just to watch him and Saban go at it yearly; plus Lane grabbing a few South Florida recruits would help.
Not a fan of Leach. He invented the air raid, but his win-loss records are not all that great. Don’t want Gus, he’d be ok building the program up but this ceiling won’t reach Atlanta imho—that and Jimmy Sexton is gonna milk Auburn for all the money they can.
I can see Auburn firing Gus if they lose to Georgia. Auburn has already reached that ceiling you referred to, and quite frankly, really needs someone else. Chad Morris being fired by Arkansas indicates that the Hogs need a program builder- enter Gus Malzahn, who turns around Arkansas just like Mark Richt turned around Miami, and then Gus moves into doing commentaries for the SEC Network. Not sure who Auburn would go after, though Mike Norvell is a possibility, and Auburn could probably easily lure him away, but I see Auburn going for Kirby Smart-type coach, and I don't know if Norvell fits that billing or not.
I don't see Auburn making a change this year unless Gus Malzahn bolts.
It's not impossible that he would leave as sometimes you've got to strike while the iron is hot. Nonetheless, Auburn has a pretty good team this year and even if they lose to Georgia and Alabama(neither being a foregone conclusion) then I don't see a need to make a change.
(11-13-2019 01:52 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ] (11-13-2019 02:15 AM)DawgNBama Wrote: [ -> ] (11-12-2019 12:44 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-11-2019 11:24 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: [ -> ]As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
He’d be great for Arkansas as would the Appalachian State coach, Kansas State HC, Baylor HC and UAB HC. I would love to see Lane Kiffen just to watch him and Saban go at it yearly; plus Lane grabbing a few South Florida recruits would help.
Not a fan of Leach. He invented the air raid, but his win-loss records are not all that great. Don’t want Gus, he’d be ok building the program up but this ceiling won’t reach Atlanta imho—that and Jimmy Sexton is gonna milk Auburn for all the money they can.
I can see Auburn firing Gus if they lose to Georgia. Auburn has already reached that ceiling you referred to, and quite frankly, really needs someone else. Chad Morris being fired by Arkansas indicates that the Hogs need a program builder- enter Gus Malzahn, who turns around Arkansas just like Mark Richt turned around Miami, and then Gus moves into doing commentaries for the SEC Network. Not sure who Auburn would go after, though Mike Norvell is a possibility, and Auburn could probably easily lure him away, but I see Auburn going for Kirby Smart-type coach, and I don't know if Norvell fits that billing or not.
I don't see Auburn making a change this year unless Gus Malzahn bolts.
It's not impossible that he would leave as sometimes you've got to strike while the iron is hot. Nonetheless, Auburn has a pretty good team this year and even if they lose to Georgia and Alabama(neither being a foregone conclusion) then I don't see a need to make a change.
Arkansas is not expected to even look Gus’ way due to his massive buyouts.
Quote: Auburn isn't firing Malzahn after the season. But if the Tigers struggle again in 2019, is the buyout substantially lower? Nope. Malzahn's buyout is 75 percent of the remaining value of the contract. After this year (his contract runs Jan. 1 through Dec. 31), there's $42.3 million remaining. Seventy-five percent of that amount is $31.725 million.
Here's a table of Malzahn's annual salary, remaining balance after that year and the buyout after that year. The buyout assumes, for simplicity's sake, that he'd be fired on Dec. 31 of that year. For example, as noted above, if fired on Dec. 31, 2018, he'd be owed 75 percent of the remaining $42.3 million, or $31.725 million. If fired on Dec. 31, 2019, he'd be owed $26.625 million.
YEAR SALARY REMAINING BUYOUT
2018 $6,700,000 $42,300,000 $31,725,000
2019 $6,800,000 $35,500,000 $26,625,000
2020 $6,900,000 $28,600,000 $21,450,000
2021 $7,000,000 $21,600,000 $16,200,000
2022 $7,100,000 $14,500,000 $10,875,000
2023 $7,200,000 $7,300,000 $5,475,000
2024 $7,300,000 $0 $0
https://m.herosports.com/college-footbal...-2019-ahah
(11-14-2019 12:09 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-13-2019 01:52 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ] (11-13-2019 02:15 AM)DawgNBama Wrote: [ -> ] (11-12-2019 12:44 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-11-2019 11:24 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: [ -> ]As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
He’d be great for Arkansas as would the Appalachian State coach, Kansas State HC, Baylor HC and UAB HC. I would love to see Lane Kiffen just to watch him and Saban go at it yearly; plus Lane grabbing a few South Florida recruits would help.
Not a fan of Leach. He invented the air raid, but his win-loss records are not all that great. Don’t want Gus, he’d be ok building the program up but this ceiling won’t reach Atlanta imho—that and Jimmy Sexton is gonna milk Auburn for all the money they can.
I can see Auburn firing Gus if they lose to Georgia. Auburn has already reached that ceiling you referred to, and quite frankly, really needs someone else. Chad Morris being fired by Arkansas indicates that the Hogs need a program builder- enter Gus Malzahn, who turns around Arkansas just like Mark Richt turned around Miami, and then Gus moves into doing commentaries for the SEC Network. Not sure who Auburn would go after, though Mike Norvell is a possibility, and Auburn could probably easily lure him away, but I see Auburn going for Kirby Smart-type coach, and I don't know if Norvell fits that billing or not.
I don't see Auburn making a change this year unless Gus Malzahn bolts.
It's not impossible that he would leave as sometimes you've got to strike while the iron is hot. Nonetheless, Auburn has a pretty good team this year and even if they lose to Georgia and Alabama(neither being a foregone conclusion) then I don't see a need to make a change.
Arkansas is not expected to even look Gus’ way due to his massive buyouts.
Quote: Auburn isn't firing Malzahn after the season. But if the Tigers struggle again in 2019, is the buyout substantially lower? Nope. Malzahn's buyout is 75 percent of the remaining value of the contract. After this year (his contract runs Jan. 1 through Dec. 31), there's $42.3 million remaining. Seventy-five percent of that amount is $31.725 million.
Here's a table of Malzahn's annual salary, remaining balance after that year and the buyout after that year. The buyout assumes, for simplicity's sake, that he'd be fired on Dec. 31 of that year. For example, as noted above, if fired on Dec. 31, 2018, he'd be owed 75 percent of the remaining $42.3 million, or $31.725 million. If fired on Dec. 31, 2019, he'd be owed $26.625 million.
YEAR SALARY REMAINING BUYOUT
2018 $6,700,000 $42,300,000 $31,725,000
2019 $6,800,000 $35,500,000 $26,625,000
2020 $6,900,000 $28,600,000 $21,450,000
2021 $7,000,000 $21,600,000 $16,200,000
2022 $7,100,000 $14,500,000 $10,875,000
2023 $7,200,000 $7,300,000 $5,475,000
2024 $7,300,000 $0 $0
https://m.herosports.com/college-footbal...-2019-ahah
If we fired him the Boosters will cover way more than half of the remaining buyout If Gus leaves we would probably split the buyout with his new destination. Either way it can be done.
(11-14-2019 12:09 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-13-2019 01:52 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: [ -> ] (11-13-2019 02:15 AM)DawgNBama Wrote: [ -> ] (11-12-2019 12:44 AM)murrdcu Wrote: [ -> ] (11-11-2019 11:24 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: [ -> ]As a long-time Memphis fan, I sure hope Arkansas isn't interested in Mike Norvell. But media reports suggest UA might be.
He’d be great for Arkansas as would the Appalachian State coach, Kansas State HC, Baylor HC and UAB HC. I would love to see Lane Kiffen just to watch him and Saban go at it yearly; plus Lane grabbing a few South Florida recruits would help.
Not a fan of Leach. He invented the air raid, but his win-loss records are not all that great. Don’t want Gus, he’d be ok building the program up but this ceiling won’t reach Atlanta imho—that and Jimmy Sexton is gonna milk Auburn for all the money they can.
I can see Auburn firing Gus if they lose to Georgia. Auburn has already reached that ceiling you referred to, and quite frankly, really needs someone else. Chad Morris being fired by Arkansas indicates that the Hogs need a program builder- enter Gus Malzahn, who turns around Arkansas just like Mark Richt turned around Miami, and then Gus moves into doing commentaries for the SEC Network. Not sure who Auburn would go after, though Mike Norvell is a possibility, and Auburn could probably easily lure him away, but I see Auburn going for Kirby Smart-type coach, and I don't know if Norvell fits that billing or not.
I don't see Auburn making a change this year unless Gus Malzahn bolts.
It's not impossible that he would leave as sometimes you've got to strike while the iron is hot. Nonetheless, Auburn has a pretty good team this year and even if they lose to Georgia and Alabama(neither being a foregone conclusion) then I don't see a need to make a change.
Arkansas is not expected to even look Gus’ way due to his massive buyouts.
Quote: Auburn isn't firing Malzahn after the season. But if the Tigers struggle again in 2019, is the buyout substantially lower? Nope. Malzahn's buyout is 75 percent of the remaining value of the contract. After this year (his contract runs Jan. 1 through Dec. 31), there's $42.3 million remaining. Seventy-five percent of that amount is $31.725 million.
Here's a table of Malzahn's annual salary, remaining balance after that year and the buyout after that year. The buyout assumes, for simplicity's sake, that he'd be fired on Dec. 31 of that year. For example, as noted above, if fired on Dec. 31, 2018, he'd be owed 75 percent of the remaining $42.3 million, or $31.725 million. If fired on Dec. 31, 2019, he'd be owed $26.625 million.
YEAR SALARY REMAINING BUYOUT
2018 $6,700,000 $42,300,000 $31,725,000
2019 $6,800,000 $35,500,000 $26,625,000
2020 $6,900,000 $28,600,000 $21,450,000
2021 $7,000,000 $21,600,000 $16,200,000
2022 $7,100,000 $14,500,000 $10,875,000
2023 $7,200,000 $7,300,000 $5,475,000
2024 $7,300,000 $0 $0
https://m.herosports.com/college-footbal...-2019-ahah
I wouldn't expect Arkansas to look his way for that reason, I agree. They are in too much turmoil and already on the hook for both Bielema and Morris' buyouts.
It wouldn't shock me if another school came after him though. Florida State maybe? Maybe a school like Baylor if Matt Rhule gets snapped up by a bigger program?