WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

11/25 18:15 CST Oklahoma State to hire North Texas' Eric Morris as new football coach Oklahoma State to hire North Texas' Eric Morris as new football coach By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer Oklahoma State has chosen North Texas' Eric Morris as its new head football coach, the school announced Tuesday. Morris has been the head coach at North Texas since 2023. The program went 5-7 his first season, but now is contending for a conference championship and College Football Playoff berth. The Mean Green are No. 21 in the AP Top 25. Morris has a reputation for helping quarterbacks, having coached, developed or recruited Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, John Mateer, Cam Ward, Chandler Morris and Drew Mestemaker. "For many reasons, including the kind of person he is and the lasting relationships he builds with his players, Coach Morris is the perfect fit as the next leader of Cowboy Football," Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said. "The future is bright for OSU Football and I look forward to introducing him and his family to our team, our former players and all Cowboy fans." The hire is pending board approval. North Texas plays its regular-season finale at home Friday against Temple, and with a win the Mean Green (10-1, 6-1 American) get in the American Conference championship game, and potentially would host it. They are still in play to be the Group of Five representative in the 12-team College Football Playoff. With former walk-on quarterback Mestemaker, a redshirt freshman who is the nation's leading passer with 3,469 yards, the Mean Green (10-1, 6-1 American) are the nation's top offense at 503 total yards and 46.3 points per game. They have six 50-point games. Their 10 wins match the most in school history. Morris was a receiver at Texas Tech for the late Mike Leach, and in 2012 joined the coach's staff at Washington State. Morris returned to the Red Raiders the next year as offensive coordinator, a role he had when Mahomes was their quarterback for three seasons. He coached Ward, the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, at FCS Incarnate Word in his first head coaching job. North Texas said in a news release that Morris will coach the Mean Green through this season. "On behalf of the University of North Texas, I want to express our deep gratitude to Eric for everything he has done for Mean Green Football over the past three seasons," North Texas athletic director Jared Mosley said. Morris will step in for Mike Gundy, who was fired in September during his 21st season. Doug Meacham is 0-8 as the interim coach. Oklahoma State is 1-10 heading into its season finale at home against Iowa State on Saturday. ___ AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football