Six Degrees of Mike Leach: A Look at Eric Morris’ Coaching Tree

Oklahoma State’s next head coach is known for his teams putting up big numbers and his knack for mentoring quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield, but where did he pick up that offensive expertise?

If you weren’t aware, Eric Morris can claim roots in the legendary Mike Leach coaching tree, going back to his playing days.

He was a wide receiver and return man for Texas Tech during Leach’s tenure. His teams were headlined by the likes of Graham Harrell, Danny Amendola and Michael Crabtree.

Due in part to his 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame, Leach gave Morris the nickname “The Elf.” He even made Morris wear an elf costume during practice. Morris racked up 1,965 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns through the air and another 756 combined return yards and a score. He also rushed for three scores.

Leach gave “The Elf” one of his early coaching gigs, bringing him to Washington State as an inside receivers coach when he took the job in 2012.

Prior to getting picked up by his former head coach, Morris got his start working for another well-known offensive coach with at least loose connections to Leach.

Morris started his coaching career as a quality control assistant for Kevin Sumlin at Houston in 2010 and then served as a graduate assistant for the Cougars in 2011.

While in Houston, he worked under Kliff Kingsbury who worked as a quarterbacks coach and co-OC over that span. Kingsbury, another disciple of Leach, hired Morris away from Washington State to take an active role in his prolific Red Raiders passing attack at their alma mater.

Morris served as co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach with Kingsbury at Tech in 2013 and then took the reins of the offense from 2014-17 while also serving as WR and IWR coach over those years.

Connections with OSU

In the world of college football, most coaches at least have worked with someone who’s worked with someone on any give team — especially in this area and in the Big 12. It’s like the Kevin Bacon movie game for the other olds among you, Six Degrees of Mike Leach.

Of interest, former OSU linebacker and defensive line coach Greg Richmond is currently serving on Morris’ staff at UNT. He served in a support role at OSU to start his coaching career and then made the rounds, including a four-year stint with OSU from 2018-22. He coached the D-line at Sam Houston in 2024 before Morris brought him on with the Mean Grean for this season. He was a touted recruiter and developer of talent during his time. Who knows what this move might mean for a return to his alma mater.

And current interim head coach Doug Meacham is only a couple degrees separated from Morris. He didn’t work on a staff with Leach, but he was one of the early adopters of the Air Raid in the 1990s. While calling the offense at junior college Georgia Military he conducted a joint practice with Leach and Hal Mumme at Valdosta State. Obviously, Meacham ran with his own flavor of the Air Raid over the decades. Who knows where Meacham will end up, but I don’t hate Marshall’s idea about him remaining in Stillwater.

While it remains to be seen how Morris will fill out his staff — or whether he’ll adopt any of the prank-laden practice tactics of his former coach — but he’s definitely brings an impressive pedigree. It’s another reason this is such an impressive hire for OSU.