Everything Oklahoma State Coaches, Players Said About the Eric Morris Hire

STILLWATER — Doug Meacham coached his last game as the Cowboys’ interim head coach on Saturday, but the former OSU alum is excited for the future of the program.

“Eric Morris is one of my favorite guys,” Meacham said. “You know he is an old ex-Texas Tech guy, air raid guy. He throws the ball all over the place, and I love every bit of it. In fact, I cut up all his film every week for the last two years.

“We talk occasionally, you know, football-wise. So appreciate what he does. Look forward to watching how they do here.”

News of the Morris hire broke on social media Tuesday afternoon, prompting Morris and OSU to make the announcement official. Athletic Director Chad Weiberg spoke to the football team about it later that day.

“Oklahoma State has been really steady throughout the years with coach Gundy,” Oklahoma State safety Parker Robertson said. “So, hope Coach Morris comes in here, gets the culture correct, everything right, and gets the right guys that come in here and flip this year. Because these past few years have been not Oklahoma State football, so hopefully he can come in and turn that script.”

Robertson won’t be a part of that future as he exhausted his eligibility with a 7-tackle performance in Saturday’s 20-13 loss to Iowa State, though he did cement himself as the Cowboys’ lead tackler this season (77 total) by four tackles.

Robertson said the younger guys, the ones with decisions to make in the coming weeks, handled the news well. The senior said they focused on the final game and didn’t let the Morris announcement distract them.

“Because they don’t even know where they’re going to be at if they’re going to stay,” Robertson said. “Because coach is going to have to come in here and interview them to see if they want to stay here or enter the portal.”

Meacham has talked a lot about how a changing coaching staff can provide motivation for various players who hope to prove something to either Morris’ group or coaching staffs elsewhere that they have what it takes to keep playing D-I ball.

Of course, they won’t be the only ones with decisions to make in the weeks to come. Interim defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said he does hope to stick around Stillwater, though he doesn’t have much history with Morris.

“I coached against him,” Bowen said. “That’s about it. I remember when he was a player at Texas Tech. I think we’ve bumped into each other a few times on the road, but we don’t have, like, a relationship. It’s not like we’re texting buddies or phone call buddies or anything like that. If we see each other, I’m sure we’d recognize each other and say hi. But, no, not much of a relationship.”

Meacham stumped for Bowen publicly a couple of times, including following Saturday’s game. He also praised what he’s seen out of North Texas’s defense this season.

“I love what he does on offense, and I know they have a lot of successes this year so far because of their offense, but I think their defense improved as well,” Meacham said. “They did good on D and they’ve had some injuries on defense, too, but those guys come in here and get it done.”

Before leaving the room, Meacham also mentioned he wouldn’t mind sticking around to join the new staff if things work out that way.

“Oh, absolutely,” Meacham said. “One of the biggest things that can bring a guy down is not to be wanted. You know what I mean? You can work hard on the other things, (but) if you’re not wanted, it just makes you feel bad every day.

“But if they want me to stay here, man, I’d love to, but I’m not trying to position myself or promote myself for it. We’ll see how it goes. If it happens that way, great. If it don’t, then I’ll be fine. I’ll move on, and that’s what we do as coaches. We find the next one, and just appreciate my time here again.”