‘I Grew Up in the Big 12′: Eric Morris Discusses Accepting Oklahoma State Job after North Texas’ Win against Temple

It has had to be a hectic week for Eric Morris.

It came out on Tuesday that Morris, North Texas’ acting football coach, had agreed to a deal to become Oklahoma State’s coach next season. On Friday, Morris led North Texas to a 52-25 win against Temple to clinch a spot in the American title game. On top of all of that, it was Thanksgiving.

Following the win against the Owls, Morris took to a podium for the first time since it had come out that he would be leaving Denton.

“I grew up in the Big 12,” Morris told The Oklahoman‘s Joe Mussatto about what stood out about the opportunity in Stillwater. “I was able to watch Coach Gundy build that thing, and I’ve played there a ton. The atmosphere is electric. I don’t think I ever won a game there as a player or a coach. I think that’s kinda what made it intriguing for me.”

The college football calendar is all sorts of messed up. The transfer portal opens Jan. 2, meaning teams with openings are trying to get their affairs in order by that date.

With news of Morris agreeing to coach the Pokes starting to trickle out, OSU AD Chad Weiberg said Morris made the decision to get out ahead of it and announce the move early, despite North Texas’ season still going on.

“Just to get it off our back,” Morris said. “I don’t want to coach games or players that believe in me and them not know what’s going on. Whether that’s right, wrong or indifferent, I don’t know.”

With Morris’ looming departure, many have also wondered what happens to some of the players currently calling Denton home — most notably redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who leads the nation in passing.

After throwing for 366 yards and three touchdowns on an 83% completion percentage, Mestemaker was asked about his future and whether he has given following his coach to Stillwater any thought.

“I haven’t really thought about that much, honestly,” Mestemaker said. “I’ve heard things from the outside, and there’s a lot of rumors going on, but I haven’t even given that a thought. I’m just trying to win this conference and see what we can do in the playoffs. …

“I love Coach Morris and everything he’s done for us, and for me specifically, but it’s something I honestly haven’t even thought about. I think if you’re in the season thinking about what you’re gonna do after the season, you’re just missing out on what we play the game for, honestly.”

In the meantime, Morris will work two jobs.

The Denton Record-Chronicle’s Brett Vito reported that Morris said he’ll remain with UNT through the postseason no matter the path. If the Mean Green wins the American next week, it’ll likely secure the Group of Five’s spot in the College Football Playoff. If not, 11-win North Texas would be headed to a bowl of some sort.

Meanwhile, not long after news came out that Morris would coach at OSU in 2026, a four-star linebacker from Texas announced he had spoken with Morris and received an offer.

“I’ve been a head coach at two different stops now, and I think the first couple stops, when I got somewhere and I made decisions really fast, I made mistakes,” Morris said. “I think having a blueprint of what it looks like, and sometimes those things take time and sometimes you miss out on some things.

“But I want to gather as much information as I can to make sure that it’s the right decision, and sometimes that means you miss out on a player or a recruit and this and that, but just in my opinion, you look at it wholistically, I need time to really dissect and get into the weeds on some things before I start making super important decisions.”