Morris Watts (born 1936) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. Until his retirement in 2016, he was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

and quarterbacks coach at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

, having joined the RedHawks coaching staff in 2009 as the quarterbacks coach. Morris served as the interim head coach at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

for the last three games of the 2002 season after Bobby Williams was fired, compiling a record of 1–2. Morris served three stints at the offensive coordinator at Michigan State (1986–1990, 1992–1994, 1999–2002) and was an assistant coach at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

(1965–1971), the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

(1972),

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

(1973–1981), the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

(1982),

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(1983, 1995–1998), and

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

(2003). He coached quarterbacks for the Birmingham Stallions of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) from 1984 to 1985 and for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in 1991. Before coming to Miami University, Watts spent two years at the offensive coordinator at Broken Arrow Senior High in

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2020 census, Broken Arrow has a population of 113,540 residents and is the 4th most populous city in the s ...

Coaching career

Michigan State

Watts was the

for eight seasons during the George Perles era, from 1986 to 1990 and 1992 to 1994. He rejoined the Spartans as a member of

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

's coaching staff and became the interim head coach in 2002 when Bobby Williams was fired after guiding a pre-season top 20 team to a 3–6 start. During his brief stint as interim head coach, he was 1–2. Following the season, he left the Michigan State football program for

. He also coached at

(LSU) as an offensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998.

Mississippi State

Watts showed his dynamism when he was hired at Mississippi State by saying at his introduction, "We want to be an offense that is balanced. Does that mean out of 100 plays we'll pass 50 times and run 50 times? No! We may throw 70 and run 30 or we may run 70 and throw 30. We'd like to spread the field and give our kids the best chance to win". In 2003, the Bulldogs were 2–10.

Head coaching record

* Bobby Williams coached the first 9 games of the season.

References

External links

Texas Southern profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Morris 1936 births Living people American football running backs Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Drake Bulldogs football coaches Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Texas Southern Tigers football coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Birmingham Stallions coaches High school football coaches in Missouri High school football coaches in Oklahoma People from Seneca, Missouri