Why Dabo Swinney said he added Chad Morris to Clemson football staff for a second time
CHARLOTTE – Chad Morris, the former Clemson football offensive coordinator, is back in Tigertown for two main reasons that coach Dabo Swinney revealed Thursday.
“He’s a very cheap, high-qualified guy to have hanging around,” Swinney said Thursday during the ACC Kickoff media days.
Swinney's summation drew a round of laughter from the surrounding reporters, but he is serious about Morris' potential impact for the Tigers. Morris, who guided a Clemson offense that helped the Tigers compile a 42-11 record from 2011-14, is now a special assistant/consultant.
“It’s kind of like what we did with Ted Roof a couple of years ago,” Swinney said. “He can bring a lot of value. He’s actually going to work with the defense and the offense – just stay a week ahead and add a lot of value from another lens.”
Morris left Clemson to become the coach at SMU, where he went 14-22 in three seasons before leaving to become coach at Arkansas. He was fired late in his second season with the Razorbacks after going 4-18.
In the few seasons since he’s served on the staffs at Auburn and South Florida.
“This guy’s been a really really good offensive coordinator and a head coach,” Swinney said. “He’s got a lot of experience. He’s always loved Clemson, loved his time here.”
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Now he’s back for the first time since 2014.
“It’s crazy, he hadn’t been back here since the day he left,” Swinney said. “He left the Sunday after the South Carolina game in 2014.
“It has changed a lot since then. He hadn’t seen our facility. It’s good to have him back around and he’ll bring a lot of value for sure. Hopefully we can help him kind of reset and get back going and get some positive things going in his direction.”
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney on Chad Morris' return to Clemson football staff
