Chad Morris’ departure for SMU last December didn’t catch Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney off guard, and Swinney didn’t have to look far and wide for a replacement. He had a plan.
Morris was Clemson’s offensive coordinator for four years and 41 victories, but it was no secret that Morris had his eyes on a return to Texas. The vacancy at Southern Methodist also wasn’t a secret – former head coach June Jones resigned in early September – and Morris was deemed early on to be a perfect fit in Dallas.
Talks between Morris and SMU began to heat up after Clemson’s final regular season game against South Carolina and Morris officially took the job the first week of December.