Poaching season is upon us
Grading the Oklahoma State and Colorado State hires and a shortlists for North Texas and UConn
It wasn’t a big domino, but we got the first major domino to fall on Tuesday when Oklahoma State announced North Texas head coach Eric Morris as their new program leader. Morris will remain with the North Texas program through the end of the season.
I reacted pretty quickly on Notes and Bluesky to the news, so if you follow me there, chances are you know how I feel.
But Morris wasn’t the only poaching, as Colorado State of all schools nabbed UConn’s head coach Jim Mora on Wednesday.
With Morris off to Stillwater, and Mora to Fort Collins, that means we get a to-for today: two Coaching Report Cards and two Coaching Shortlists.
As a refresher to those just finding these series. The Coaching Report Cards are my initial thoughts and grades on each hire. I’ll take a look at two factors surrounding the hire - the off-field things like fundraising, recruiting and such, and the on-field results. Then, I’ll assign a grade.
For the Coaching Shortlists, you’ll get an overview of the open job and some context to consider for candidates and the program going forward. Then, the five names that make the most sense to me. There usually purely speculation, but I’ll let you know when I have sources telling me things.
Oklahoma State - Off-Field Overview
We’ll start in Stillwater with the big news of Morris’s hiring.
If you remember way back in the Oklahoma State Shortlist article, I talked about how the Cowboys wanted to get a coach with major ties to Texas, which is where the program does most of its recruiting. After all, Oklahoma isn’t the talent hotbed that their southern neighbors are.
Morris fits that bill. He’s been in the Lone Star State the past three years leading the Mean Green program to a complete resurgence. Prior to that, Morris was the head coach at FCS Incarnate Word, located in San Antonio, Texas, from 2018-2022. Between those two roles, he broke free of his Texan roots as the offensive coordinator at Washington State.
Similarly to Mike Gundy, Morris isn’t known as that shrewd of a recruiter. Instead, he’s a coach that develops talent, looking for diamonds in the rough. The bulk of Gundy’s great Oklahoma State teams were built on the backs of underrated three-star players that Gundy and his staff were able to whip into talented, contributing players.
At both Incarnate Word and North Texas, Morris has been able to do the same. He’s routinely taken players that were three-stars all the way down to a few notable unranked players like Cam Ward and Drew Mestemaker and turned them into high-powered offensive juggernauts.
That’s what you want to see out of this program, right?
I do have one off-field concern, though, which is in the fundraising aspect. While it’s true that North Texas has modernized a ton under Morris, Oklahoma State is still very much mired in the past due to Gundy’s unwillingness to adapt to the modern player movement era.
The good side of this is that North Texas was similarly underfunded when Morris arrived on campus in 2023. But the entire athletic department made a conscious effort to get more modern. They hired an Associate Athletic Director for NIL and a general manager hungry to make his mark.
By most reporting, Morris isn’t that involved in the fundraising process. It’s all general manager Raj Murti and Assistant AD for NIL Steve Keasler who are putting together the funding packages, doing the fundraising, and working the market to keep their players in Denton.
We don’t know how much of the North Texas operation is going with Morris to Stillwater, but it’s a valid concern for a program so far behind.
On-Field
Luckily for Oklahoma State fans, this part isn’t the worry.
Morris has built his reputation as a quarterback guru. Hailing from the Mike Leach Air Raid tree, Morris has his fingerprints on a ton of great quarterbacks across college football and the NFL. Players like Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, John Mateer, Cam Ward, Chandler Morris and Drew Mestemaker have all directly worked under Morris.
At both Incarnate Word and North Texas, Morris’s teams have been among the nation’s best in their respective divisions. That’s also been the hallmark of good Oklahoma State play under Gundy, so Poke fans will feel right at home.
Currently, Morris has the Mean Green sitting at 10-1 and in the thick of College Football Playoff contention. A win sends North Texas to the American championship, which may be a win-and-in for the playoff. For context, North Texas hasn’t been ranked in over 60 years prior to this season. Yeah, he’s done well.
To dig into the stats, Morris has the North Texas offense ranking first in scoring offense, second in passing yards and 39th in rushing yards. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker leads the country in passing yards. For my more advanced stat-loving friends, North Texas’s offense ranks first in total EPA, first in success rate, and second in EPA/play. Overall the Mean Green are seventh in Net EPA/play.
The defense, as with most air raid teams, has been a problem for Morris, but he’s stabilized it some with a shrewd hire of Skyler Cassity to lead that side of the ball. But, that’s nothing new for Oklahoma State fans.
There’s also buzz that Mestemaker may follow Morris to Stillwater, but North Texas is ready to shell out to keep him in Denton, so we’ll see about that.
Grade: B+
Morris has a good track record at underfunded and smaller schools, turning them all into major contenders with elite offenses before. I’m excited to see what he does with actual resources for the first time in his career.
But there are some things that scare me, like what I saw about his fundraising and recruiting. Having a great general manager and support staff goes a long way, but I feel like a true recruiter or someone that can start bringing cash into the building was what Oklahoma State needed. We’ll see if that comes back to bite Morris.
Colorado State - Off-Field
Colorado State is in as unique a position as there can be. For one, they’re set to head to the rebuilt PAC-12 next season, which should be a nice infusion of cash for the program above and beyond what the Mountain West media deal was netting them.
But, more interestingly, Colorado State has been seen as a program of unrealized potential in recent years. They built a new, top of the line stadium in 2017. The facilities as a whole are among the best in the Group of Six. There’s deep pocketed donors making these things happen, but there hasn’t been results on the field.
For Jim Mora, that translates to a lot better facilities to sell recruits on than he had at basketball-focused UConn. And, deeper pockets to make moves.
You don’t see a lot of long-time coaches adapting as well as Mora has to this new era of college football. But he’s been able to orchestrate a full turnaround at UConn while marrying the past’s player development model along with supplements from the portal and a healthy NIL budget. It’s gone well.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported that UConn general manager Justin Cummings-Morrow is also joining Mora in Fort Collins, which is a great move. Keeping the brain trust that built a moribund UConn program into a nine-win team this year is what Colorado State needed.
And, with Mora’s pedigree and experience in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons in addition to college success at UConn and modern UCLA’s best run, he should be able to compete on the recruiting trail. He’s an old dog that knows how to sweet talk kids and their families, so I expect Colorado State’s recruiting efforts to improve a ton.
On-Field
Two consecutive nine-win seasons at UConn is an achievement enough.
In my Colorado State shortlist, I noted that previous head coach Jay Norvell had the program on an upward trajectory, but they slipped this year. But even with that, the Rams hadn’t been to a bowl since 2017.
Mora had UConn of all schools in two consecutive bowls and three bowls in his four-year tenure.
He’s done that with a creative offense that used two quarterbacks - a more pocket-passing Joe Fagnano and a scrambler in Nick Evers - paired with a typical pro-style system. In Mora’s system, Fagnano has tossed 28 touchdowns and only one interception this year.
The Huskies under Mora have the eighth-best passing offense in the nation and 15th best scoring offense. Balance is also a struggle, though, with the scoring defense ranking 78th. Advanced stats paint the Husky offense even better with the fifth best Total EPA mark, seventh best EPA/play, and 24th in success rate. The defense grades much better in the advanced stats world as well, ranking 52nd in Total EPA and 51st in EPA/play.
The problem lies in the current talent on a bad Colorado State team. Meaning, there is no talent. Mora’s going to likely face a tough first season as he adjusts to football in the Rocky Mountains.
Grade: B
Mora, at 64, probably doesn’t have that much left in him, which is a concern. But he’s a solid hire for a program in transition times. I thought he would aim higher for a Power Four job when it became clear he was going to leave, but this is a solid landing spot.
Colorado State can hang their hats on the fact that they got an experienced coach with NFL and Power Four credentials, but how much of that matters? He wasn’t a great NFL coach and his UCLA program declined throughout his tenure. It’s not like he had the Bruins as serious contenders, they were just better than the Chip Kelly and Deshaun Foster disasters.
All-in-all, I think this is a safe hire with a high floor and a questionable ceiling. Mora proved he’s adapted well, but that was at one program. It’s time to put it to the test.
The Job - North Texas
We talked about a lot of the pitfalls and modernization of North Texas in the earlier section about Morris leaving for Oklahoma State, so I won’t rehash all of that.
My main concern for the Mean Green is how their fundraising arm and stability is with Morris leaving the building.
It’s clear that two men, Raj Murti and Steve Keasler, are the ones running the behind the scenes parts of the program. Keasler is an Assistant Athletic Director for NIL over the entire athletic department, not just football. I think he’s safe.
It’s Murti that is more questionable. As he’s the football general manager, it’s possible he leaves with Morris for Oklahoma State too. That would be a serious ding on the program and their ability to retain the talent on the roster.
North Texas and their donors are making a concerted effort to keep as much talent in Denton as possible. That starts with Drew Mestemaker. But, the program has been raided each of the past few offseasons. Granted, that was without the support of Murti and Keasler in place, but now they’re without a coach.
The good news is Morris is keeping the band together for a potential American Conference Championship run and Playoff run. If there’s some staff continuity, keeping the roster together in large part will be miles easier.
There was also a massive movement in Denton to get boosters on board with keeping Morris in-town. We know it didn’t succeed, but athletic director Jared Mosley has activated his boosters’ war chest to keep this program afloat. That includes real estate mogul Rex Glendenning. The plan was to make Morris the highest paid public-school coach in the American conference, more than tripling his salary, with massive boosts to the staff pool and revenue sharing pools.
It didn’t work for Morris, but that investment can buy the Mean Green a solid replacement.
The Candidates
As a reminder, these are all speculation unless noted otherwise.
Skyler Cassity, North Texas DC: If Morris were to leave the program, I think Cassity would be the interim head coach. He’s a polar opposite of Morris as a defense-first guy, but offers stability to keep the band together. That seems to be the main goal of the university’s fundraising efforts, so going with the promotion may make sense here. For his part, Cassity has orchestrated a great turnaround on the defensive side of the ball, which is a large part of why North Texas has been so good this year.
Billy Napier, former Florida HC: Napier is the biggest name here after his Florida tenure, but the Louisiana native makes sense. He had great success in the Group of Six at Louisiana, where he went 40-12 and had his pick of Power Four jobs when he was ready to make the jump. Like Morris, Napier is seen as an offense-first guy with a spread out scheme. But he’s also a great recruiter, which could be a big step to keeping Mestemaker in town. Plus, Napier has already been seen with the program at a North Texas practice last week. Let’s see if North Texas lets him leave the building.
Garrett Riley, Clemson OC: Clemson’s season has gone down the tube and fingers are being pointed everywhere. Whether or not bringing Riley to Clemson was a good move or not is debatable, but you could see him making a move out while his name still has some shine. Riley, another air raid disciple like Morris and his older brother Lincoln, would provide scheme stability and a big name. He’s orchestrated some great offenses like the 2022 TCU national championship run and had Cade Klubnik looking great for most of three years until this one. He’ll be pricey for sure, but isn’t a bad look.
Casey Woods, SMU OC: Woods is likely gone after this season, as he’s high up on UAB’s priority list as well. He’s not the primary playcaller, as Rhett Lashlee holds onto that duty. But Woods is a strong recruiter for the Mustangs and was previously Missouri’s recruiting coordinator before this role. But he still has his fingerprints on a offense that ranks eighth in scoring offense since his arrival in Dallas. North Texas will have to top UAB’s push, though.
Mike Gundy, former Oklahoma State HC: A head coaching trade? Not as crazy as you’d think. Gundy has stated many times he wants to be a head coach again. We’ve already talked about the similarities between Gundy and Morris, so North Texas couldn’t do too bad bringing in the mulleted maestro. With plenty of back-office supports to modernize the roster management, Gundy can just focus on X’s and O’s like he seems to want to. Not a bad gig.
The Job - UConn
Good luck to whoever follows.
Like with North Texas, we talked a lot about the UConn job on my section about Mora, so we won’t repeat that here.
Instead, let’s take an overarching look at the program.
Aside from Mora, UConn has been bad at football. Randy Edsall 2: Electric Boogaloo was a nightmare. Bob Diaco had them mediocre. Paul Pasqualoni is a name most everyone has forgotten.
During that stretch dating back to 2011, the Huskies had mustered two winning seasons. Apt-eyed readers will be able to recognize the two. That’s right, 2024 and 2025 under Mora.
So this is a program that’s traditionally hurting and now losing their main head coach and general manager.
With this much staff turnover, I don’t know how much focus UConn has on football to remain competitive. Joe Fagnano is out of eligibility. The team is an FBS independent because their preferred Big East home doesn’t sponsor football at all. There just isn’t a lot to hang your hat on here.
Still, Mora showed that you can win in Storrs. You may have to get creative with a hire, but this is a program with serious potential to bottom out in the coming years. There’s a lot at stake in this hire.
The Candidates
Brian Kelly, former LSU HC: Here’s your pipe dream candidate if you’re a UConn fan. Kelly hasn’t popped up in any coaching candidates despite his stellar resume. Probably because of his nebulous employment status and pending lawsuit against LSU for his possible firing? Still, Kelly would be a home run. He’s a New England native and has a career record of 200-76. If he listens, UConn should send the house. I don’t know if he listens, though. It depends on a similarly nebulous offset clause on his maybe enforceable contract. That’s as clear as I can make it.
Ryan Carty, Delaware HC: Delaware’s FBS transition has gone pretty well, so maybe Carty can keep the mojo going transitioning to a new job? Like Kelly, Carty is a New England native and knows the region well. He’s posted at least eight wins in three years at the FCS ranks with the Blue Hens and has the transitioning Delaware sitting at 5-6 in their first FBS season. Granted, Carty is at his alma mater, so prying him away may be tough for a school like UConn that isn’t that clear a step up.
Jeff Monken, Army HC: There’s been a lot of buzz around Monken the past few cycles, so maybe this is the one that pulls him away from West Point. It would represent a full stylistic shift for the Huskies, as Monken has run the triple option at every stop he’s been at, not just at Army. This isn’t a guy like Ken Niumatalolo that’s looking to reinvent himself - Monken knows who he is, how to run his program and how to get his system working.
Tony Reno, Yale HC: The FCS ranks seem like a good possibility for his hire and Reno’s done wonders with the Bulldogs. He’s led the program since 2011 and has five Ivy League championship to his name, including this year. His Bulldogs pulled a shocking upset over rival Harvard last weekend to punch their first ever FCS Playoff berth after an Ivy League rule change made their teams eligible to compete. His schemes line up well with what Mora had success with and Reno has built a strong program at Yale.
Pete Lembo, Buffalo HC: Lembo is perhaps has done the best rehab on his standing in the coaching market of anyone the past two years. After an ungraceful end to a long tenure at Ball State, Lembo has transformed Buffalo into a MAC title contender overnight. With the shoestring budgets most MAC schools run on, Lembo and his Northeastern ties should be a target in the search.
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