Three-time state champ, former HS coach returns to DFW with football powerhouse Allen
Former SMU and Arkansas coach Chad Morris is returning to the high school level after he was named the next head football coach at Allen High School on Wednesday.
Morris replaces Terry Gambill, who announced his retirement two weeks ago.
Gambill led Allen, which owns the biggest enrollment in the state, to a Class 6A Division 1 state championship in 2017 and three state semifinal appearances.
Morris returns to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
He was SMU’s football coach for three seasons before going to Arkansas for two seasons. He complied an 18-40 overall record in college. He spent the past season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn, which went 6-5 and averaged nearly 400 yards of offense.
But Morris’ greatest success came at the high school level.
Prior to SMU, Morris was the OC with Tulsa and Clemson. Before that, he spent 15 years coaching Texas high school football. Morris compiled an overall record of 167-40 in high school and won three state titles, two with Austin Lake Travis and one with Bay City.
His last season in high school came with Lake Travis in 2009.
Morris also had stints with Stephenville, Elysian Fields and Eustace.
Allen, a five-time UIL football state champion, went 65-4 in Gambill’s five seasons as head coach, including 10-1 in 2020 with a trip to the third round of the 6A D1 playoffs.
Allen is a playoff regular, having reached the third round in nine straight seasons.
Morris also has ties in DFW. His son Chandler, who helped Highland Park to a state title in 2018, is a TCU quarterback. His sister, Michelle, is the head girls basketball coach at Mansfield Legacy.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 9:23 AM.
