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The Chad Morris era at Arkansas lasted less than two years, as he was fired with two games left in the season Sunday.
It is probably a period fans of the Razorbacks would like to forget, as he went 4-18 overall and winless in 14 SEC games. His overall winning percentage of .182 is the worst in school history.
Here are some areas and moments that defined his tenure…
Lack of QB Consistency
Arguably the most surprising aspect of Morris’ tenure was the quarterback struggles. The Razorbacks used six different starting quarterbacks during his 22 games and could start a seventh in the final two games of this season.
Heralded as the coach who helped Tajh Boyd become an All-American and ACC Player of the Year and who recruited Deshaun Watson at Clemson, Morris went back and forth between Ty Storey and Cole Kelley in 2018 and Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel - two players he brought in as graduate transfers - in 2019. He also started Connor Noland last season because of an injury to Storey and John Stephen Jones on Saturday because of the ineffectiveness of the quarterbacks ahead of him. True freshman KJ Jefferson seems like a good candidate to start moving forward, as well.
It also didn’t help that Morris seemingly had no feel for when to bring in a quarterback off the bench, as he left his starter in too long on multiple occasions - only for the replacement to provide a “spark” in a losing effort.
Arkansas has thrown 33 interceptions over the last two years, which is its most in a two-year span since 1971-72. Last season, the Razorbacks tied for 98th nationally with 192.3 passing yards per game and finished 107th with a 54.6 completion percentage. Although their yardage has increased to 204.8 per game (91st), they are completing just 51.1 percent of their passes - which is 123rd out of 130 FBS teams.
Decision to Punt at Colorado State
During his introductory press conference, Morris made a promise to get in the “left lane” and “hammer down.” In just his second game, though, he contradicted that statement.
With the Razorbacks desperately trying not to blow an 18-point lead at Colorado State, they had the ball at midfield facing a fourth-and-one as the fourth quarter began. Despite averaging more than six yards per carry and not having a run less than 1 yard up to that point, Morris opted to punt.
The rest was history, as the Rams scored 17 points on their final three possessions - including a game-winning touchdown with eight seconds left - to win 34-27.
Group of Five Beatdowns
That loss started the downward spiral, but a 44-17 blowout loss to North Texas at home accelerated the first 10-loss season in school history. It was as thorough of a defeat as possible, with the Mean Green led 17-0 about 10 minutes in and had it not been for a garbage-time touchdown in the final minute, former kicker Cole Hedlund would have single-handedly outscored Arkansas.
This season, a week after the Razorbacks used a big fourth quarter to avoid another collapse against Colorado State and debuted “Club Dub,” they fell behind 24-7 at halftime to lowly San Jose State. Although it managed to fight back and tie it up with about three minutes left, the Spartans had no problem responding - needing just five plays to cover 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
Arkansas threw seven interceptions against North Texas, including four by Kelley, and five against San Jose State - all by Starkel.
The final straw was an embarrassing effort against Western Kentucky on Saturday. Led by Storey, who transferred after the 2018 season, the Hilltoppers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and led by as much as 32 points in the fourth quarter.
With that loss, Morris ensured he had as many losses to Group of Five teams as he had total victories with the Razorbacks.
Pregame Flirting at Mississippi State
If there was any doubts that Arkansas had mailed it in following a 52-6 blowout loss at Mississippi State last year, former tight end D.J. Williams erased them when he asked Morris about a couple of players flirting with Mississippi State dance team members before the game.
It was later revealed that defensive backs Ryan Pulley and Kamren Curl were the two players and they were suspended for the finale at Missouri - a 38-0 loss. The combined 90-6 score of the two games made it tied for the third worst back-to-back losses in terms of margin (84 points) in school history.
Embarrassing Highlights
During the aforementioned loss to North Texas, Arkansas fell victim to a trick play on which Keegan Brewer, the Mean Green’s punt returner, acted like he fair caught the ball, only to score on a 90-yard return after the Razorbacks’ coverage unit started to come off the field. The play was shown on national highlights throughout the year.
Later in the season, Arkansas provided another embarrassing highlight when Rakeem Boyd and Jordan Jones collided in the backfield at the beginning of a play against LSU.
This year, the highlight that will be shown to encapsulate the season was a horribly designed fake punt attempt against Auburn. Sam Loy’s pass - which he threw like he was shooting a basketball - was intercepted. It was a play the media had seen the Razorbacks run in practice with minimal success.
