North Texas’ Eric Morris hired as next coach at Oklahoma State

Eric Morris, who led North Texas to a 10-1 record this season, has been hired as Oklahoma State’s next coach, it was announced Tuesday.

Morris will remain with the Mean Green for the remainder of the regular season as well as any potential appearances in the Conference USA title game and the College Football Playoff.

He will take over an Oklahoma State program in a rut. The Cowboys (1-10) haven’t won a Big 12 game in the past two seasons, going 0-17 in conference play during that span, heading into Saturday’s season finale against Iowa State.

“Today begins the next era of Oklahoma State football,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a statement. “…Coach Morris has proven his ability to build and lead winning football programs. He has consistently identified, recruited and developed some of the best players in college football.”

The Mean Green, who host Temple in the regular-season finale Friday, are in a three-way tie with Navy and Tulane atop the Conference USA standings.

North Texas is preparing for Morris’ potential departure and a search for potential replacements is underway. The school’s location north of Dallas has made it an attractive Group of 5 job in recent years.

“I want to express our deep gratitude to Eric for everything he has done for Mean Green Football over the past three seasons,” UNT athletic director Jared Mosley said in a statement. “He took over during one of the most chaotic times in college athletics and brought great success to the field, including two bowl-eligible seasons and the program’s first national ranking in more than six decades, while our student-athletes excelled in the classroom and in the Denton community.”

Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham, 60, has served as Oklahoma State’s interim head coach since Mike Gundy was fired Sept. 23 after 21 seasons.

Gundy, the program’s winningest coach, compiled a remarkable 170-90 record with the Cowboys. The team’s first home loss to Tulsa since 1951, which followed a 69-3 defeat at the hands of Oregon, sounded the death knell for Gundy, who led his alma mater to nine AP top 20 finishes between 2008 and 2021.

Under Morris, North Texas has the nation’s No. 1 offense with 503.3 yards per game this year. The Mean Green have scored at least 50 points in six games this season and are the only FBS team to score at least 30 points in every game this season.

Morris has become a prominent coach in the landscape due to his extensive experience in identifying and developing star quarterbacks. Morris’ most recent find, Drew Mestemaker, is a first-year starter who leads the nation with 3,469 passing yards. He threw 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

The discovery of Mestemaker, who didn’t play quarterback in high school, only added to Morris’ story as a quarterback whisperer.

Last season, UNT quarterback Chandler Morris (no relation) finished fifth in the FBS with 314.5 passing yards per game. He transferred to Virginia after the 2024 season.

As coordinator at Washington State, Eric Morris signed John Mateer. And when he was head coach at Incarnate Word, he signed Cam Ward (and then took Ward to Washington State when he moved there as offensive coordinator).

Morris also helped recruit Baker Mayfield as a quarterback at Texas Tech and was Tech’s offensive coordinator during Patrick Mahomes’ three years with the Red Raiders.

“For many reasons, including the kind of person he is and the lasting relationships he builds with his players, Coach Morris is the ideal person as the next leader of Cowboy football,” Weiberg said.

Morris is 21-15 in three years at North Texas. As head coach of Incarnate Word, he went 24-18 with two FCS playoff appearances.

ESPN’s Eli Lederman contributed to this report.