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Several rumors have hit the news today indicating Clemson OC Chad Morris will become the new head coach at SMU. The Mustangs are currently 0-10 after head coach June Jones resigned unexpectedly 2 games into the season. Clemson 247 is reporting that a source indicates a deal has already been reached.
A high-level #SMU source told me #Clemson OC Chad Morris has agreed to a multi-year contract averaging more than $3 million per year.
— Chip Brown (@ChipBrownHD) November 28, 2014
Other reporters on Twitter are also getting sources to confirm the news though nothing has been said by SMU officials. The news is expected to be announced next week and would apparently see Morris sign a contract for over $3 million a year.
As we've mentioned before, Morris has passed on previous head coaching jobs because he has certain conditions for the school. He wants to be able to pay assistants and provide top notch facilities to help recruit quality players and maintain a certain level of excellence. SMU has never had that since suffering the death penalty, but it appears they are ready to invest. With Kevin Sumlin beginning to come under fire, it will be interesting to see if Morris would try to play success at SMU into the A&M position several years down the line.
We'll continue to cover these reports and any other breaking news.
Update: Chad Morris responded to a text from TCI by saying "Unreal, everyone thinks they know. Sorry completely focused on SC.”
That's a very interesting response, and it makes me think something is up. At the very least SMU has made an offer. If they hadn't Morris could have said that he has not received any offers to become a head coach. Instead he's just tried to blow it off and talk about focusing on the South Carolina game.