Allen hires former SMU and Arkansas head coach Chad Morris as next football coach

The last two times Allen had an opening for a head football coach, he turned to familiar faces. This time, the biggest school in Texas decided to do an external hire – and a big one.

Chad Morris, the former head coach of SMU and Arkansas, will be Allen’s next football head coach, the district announced on Twitter Wednesday morning. Morris spent last season as an offensive coordinator at Auburn.

“I am honored to join Allen ISD and the Allen Eagles football program,” Morris said in a press release. “Allen High School is known throughout the state and country for having a tradition of excellence in everything it does, and the football team is certainly included in that discussion. My roots run deep in Texas high school football and I am delighted to have the opportunity to return to coaching young student-athletes and make an impression on their lives. As a coach, I will expect our students to work hard, but I want them to know that I care about their overall development as leaders on and off the field. My goal is to establish a culture that can positively impact our student-athletes, and I believe this will allow us to compete for championships in a consistent way.

The move means Morris will not only be back in the Dallas area, but close to his two children. His daughter, Mackenzie, is the North Texas Recruiting Operations Coordinator. Her son, Chandler, transferred from Oklahoma to TCU this offseason. Chandler was the starting quarterback at Highland Park for two seasons. He led the Scots to a state championship in 2018 and was named offensive player of the year in all zones.

Morris replaces Terry Gambill, who announced his retirement on March 16 after five years as head coach at Allen. Gambill, 59, had a 65-4 record at Allen and led the Eagles to a 16-0 record and a Class 6A Division I state championship in 2017. He also reached the semi-finals of ‘Status in 2016 and 2018.

Flashback reading: Chad Morris went from sleeping in a country house to being the head coach of SMU with a $ 1.6 million house and epic man cave

Allen now has his next head coach, but he still doesn’t have a future athletic director. Steve Williams announced his retirement two days after Gambill. He is expected to remain as sporting director until June. Williams spent 41 years with Allen ISD, the last 21 as District Athletic Director.

Gambill was a defensive coordinator before becoming the head coach of Waco Midway and eventually Allen’s head coach. He replaced Tom Westerberg, who was also coordinator at Allen before becoming head coach of the Eagles.

“The more I spoke with Coach Morris, the more I became certain that he was the right person to lead the Allen Eagles football team,” Superintendent Robin Bullock said in a statement. “Coach Morris is clearly passionate about coaching young athletes and helping them succeed. His coaching record speaks for itself and it is also evident that he is a proven leader who is focused on building relationships with student-athletes, mentoring coaches and promoting a positive culture while throughout the program. When you mix integrity and doing the right thing with the desire to motivate students to be the best, great things will follow. “

Morris was not a coach at Allen, but he has a lot of experience coaching high school football in Texas. In 16 seasons, he compiled an overall record of 167-40. He won a state championship as head coach of Bay City in 2000, then won back-to-back state titles at Austin Lake Travis in 2008 and 2009. In his last five seasons at Stephenville and Lake Travis, he’s lost five games, none of which in the past two years.

After winning his second straight title at Lake Travis, Morris was hired in Tulsa. He eventually became Clemson’s offensive coordinator before becoming the head coach of SMU.

Morris went 14-22 at SMU, but went 7-5 in his final season there. He went on to become the head coach of Arkansas where he got a 4-18 combined before being sacked.

Allen’s job posting for a head football coach estimates an annual salary to be nearly $ 124,000 ($ 476.01 per day). In Arkansas, Morris initially signed a six-year contract worth around $ 3.5 million a year – a contract Arkansas is still paying him as part of a buyout. Morris signed a three-year contract last year to be Auburn’s offensive coordinator, but he was dropped after longtime Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was fired – now Central Florida head coach.

Now Morris will return to the high school ranks with arguably the biggest high school job in the country.

In 2010, Allen broke new ground at Eagle Stadium. The $ 60 million stadium opened two years later. Allen has never lost a home game inside Eagle Stadium. The Eagles will also start next season with an 83-game winning streak intact. Under Morris, Allen will seek to extend these two series.

This story will be updated.

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