Morris leaves for Washington State
Hours after Incarnate Word capped its best season in program history with a secondround loss in the FCS playoffs, the Cardinals learned coach Eric Morris will be departing for the offensive coordinator position at Washington State, sources confirmed Sunday.
Morris was hired at UIW in December 2017 and his air raid offense quickly helped lift the program. The Cardinals won a share of the Southland Conference championship and made their first FCS playoff appearance in 2018. This year’s team smashed program records with a 10-3 season, lifting him to a 24-17 record at UIW.
The 10 wins marked the best total in program history and UIW notched its first FCS playoff win, knocking off Stephen F. Austin last week in San Antonio. On Saturday, UIW pushed defending national champion No. 1 Sam Houston to the brink, failing to convert a fourth down when quarterback Cameron Ward was tackled at the 1-yard line in the closing seconds of a 49-42 loss.
Washington State elevated Jake Dickert from defensive coordinator to interim head coach following the firing of Nick Rolovich on Oct. 18 and Dickert was introduced this week as the program’s permanent head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal.
Morris earned his first fulltime assistant coaching role at Washington State in 2012, taking the inside receivers coach position under Mike Leach. Morris played for Leach as a receiver at Texas Tech from 2004-08.
UIW announced in August that Morris had signed a fiveyear extension to coach the Cardinals through 2026.
Coming to UIW after spending five seasons as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, Morris inherited a team that went 1-10 in 2017 and lifted the program to a 6-5 record in 2018, earning Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors.
The Cardinals went 5-7 in 2019 and 3-3 during an abbreviated season this spring before a record-breaking 2021 campaign earned Morris his second Southland Coach of the Year award.