Oklahoma State football reportedly set to hire Eric Morris, replacing Mike Gundy

STILLWATER — It appears that Eric Morris is moving from North Texas to north of the border.

Multiple national outlets have reported that Morris has agreed to become Oklahoma State’s next football coach. ESPN’s Pete Thamel had it first.

He replaces Mike Gundy, who was fired during his 21st season as the Oklahoma State coach on Sept. 23. Oklahoma State officials declined to comment on the report of Morris' hiring.

Here’s a look at what to know about Morris:

Who is the new Oklahoma State coach?

Eric Morris, who turned 40 years old in October, will continue to coach the Mean Green, who are in position to reach the American Conference Championship Game, and potentially the College Football Playoff.

Morris is originally from the town of Littlefield in the Texas panhandle and played college football for Mike Leach as a receiver at Texas Tech.

Morris had early coaching stops at Houston and Washington State, and later became the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech..

He later orchestrated program turnarounds at Incarnate Word and now, North Texas. In between, he returned to Washington State for a year as offensive coordinator.

Why did Oklahoma State hire Eric Morris?

Eric Morris has proven himself twice capable of building programs at lower levels.

Incarnate Word had won one game the year before he took over, but won six in his first season and went 10-3 in his fourth and final season there.

North Texas had been a middling program in the latter years of coach Seth Littrell’s tenure. When Morris was hired to replace him, the Mean Green went 5-7, 6-7 and are currently 10-1 with a shot at the College Football Playoff.

But Morris might best be known for his ability to discover unheralded quarterback talent.

While at Texas Tech, it was Morris who pushed for the recruitment of Baker Mayfield, who walked on before transferring to OU and later winning the Heisman Trophy.

At Incarnate Word, Morris discovered Cam Ward, who followed Morris to Washington State then transferred to Miami for his final season and was the first overall pick in the NFL Draft last April.

Morris also helped recruit current OU quarterback John Mateer to Washington State.

And now at North Texas, Morris is excelling offensively with a redshirt freshman quarterback named Drew Mestamaker, who did not start a single varsity game in his high school career at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas.

The 6-foot-4, 211-pound Mestamaker has thrown for 3,469 yards with 26 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 games this season.

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

More: Oklahoma State football stock report: Punter Wes Pahl deserves postseason honors

Eric Morris record

Former Texas Tech football player Eric Morris is in his third season as a head coach at the FBS level, guiding North Texas to an 21-15 overall record.

• 2023: 5-7

• 2024: 6-7 (lost in First Responder Bowl)

• 2025: 10-1

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU football reportedly set to hire Eric Morris, replacing Mike Gundy