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College Football: Grading every new Power Five head coach in 2018

By John Mitchell

LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers watches late game action against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers watches late game action against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

12. Chad Morris – Arkansas 

  • Record: 1-6 (0-4)
  • Grade: D

Bret Bielema didn’t exactly leave the cupboard stocked full of blue-chip talent, but the Razorbacks should not be this bad in year one under Chad Morris. Part of the struggles has to do with a big change in offensive philosophy from Bielema’s heavy-set pro-style offense to Morris’s more pass-happy spread.

That doesn’t excuse losses to Colorado State or North Texas, though. Morris has yet to lead Arkansas to a win over an FBS opponent, and their average margin-of-defeat is 18.3 points-per-game. A big problem has been Morris’s struggle to identify a quarterback, with Ty Storey, Cole Kelley, and true freshman Connor Noland combining to throw as many interceptions as touchdowns – completing just 55 percent of their passes in the process.

Morris was a curious hire to begin with after going just 14-22 in three seasons as the head coach at SMU. Morris had a sterling reputation after spending four seasons as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, so his hiring in Fayetteville had more to do with what he did running the offense at Clemson than as the head coach at SMU.

One thing Morris could never figure out in his three seasons at SMU was the defensive side of the ball. Even with John Chavis on staff in Fayetteville, the Hogs rank 101st in the country in total defense.

There have been some small signs of tangible progress for Morris this season, though. The Razorbacks have shown some improvement over their last three games. They lost by only seven points at a neutral site against Texas A&M, they scored more points against Alabama than anyone has so far this season, and they came oh-so-close to earning their first FBS win last week at home against Ole Miss. They blew a nine-point lead with less than four-and-a-half minutes left in the game to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Morris is putting in work on the recruiting trail, however, with his latest commitment of tight-end Hudson Henry jumping the Hogs up to 17th in the 247 composites.

It’s possible that Morris will get things figured out in Fayetteville, but initial receipts have not looked good.

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