Will Chad Morris follow his son Chandler and join TCU football? Don’t count on it.
Chandler Morris is coming to TCU. Chad Morris is not.
Chandler announced his intentions to join the Horned Frogs on Sunday. The former four-star prospect spent only one season with Oklahoma before entering the transfer portal. He’ll provide competition and depth in TCU’s quarterback room behind starter Max Duggan.
Speculation swirled that Chandler’s decision could be a sign that his father, Chad, would be joining him at TCU. Well, according to a source, Chad Morris will not be joining TCU’s staff.
TCU has an opening after offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie bolted for Texas Tech last month. Cumbie’s departure had been expected as he was in the final year of his contract and was stripped of play-calling duties before the season.
Chad Morris would seem like a logical candidate given his extensive high school coaching background in the state and his offensive coordinator background at the college level. He served as OC at Tulsa (2010) and Clemson (2011-14) before landing head coaching jobs at SMU (2015-17) and Arkansas (2018-19). He most recently served as Auburn’s offensive coordinator this season, but that program is in the midst of a coaching change after firing Gus Malzahn.
Morris is technically under contract with Auburn through the 2022 season, although it seems unlikely that new coach Bryan Harsin would retain Morris.
As far as TCU concerned, it seems as though Doug Meacham is the leading internal candidate to become the offensive coordinator. Meacham was the de facto OC in 2020, serving as the team’s primary play-caller on the field with Cumbie upstairs in the coaching booth.
Coach Gary Patterson said multiple times last season that TCU’s offense was going back “to the way it was” when Meacham and Cumbie were co-offensive coordinators during their first stint from 2014-16. But Meacham was never given the “OC” title, officially being listed as the inside receivers/tight ends coach on the team’s website.
That title could change going into next season.
As far as the staff opening, former quarterback Kenny Hill remains a candidate to be promoted from offensive analyst to quarterbacks coach. Patterson could also look at Tim Beck, the longtime Pittsburg (Kansas) State coach who served as a volunteer assistant in 2020.
Of course, outside options are always a possibility. Just don’t expect it to be Chad Morris even though his son is headed to Fort Worth.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 3:31 PM.
