Guy Morriss

Guy Walker Morriss (May 13, 1951 – September 5, 2022) was an American football coach and player.

Morriss was born in Colorado City, Texas, on May 13, 1951.

He attended Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas, where he played tight end for the school's team.

Morriss played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU) and spent 15 seasons as an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles (1973–1983) and the New England Patriots (1984–1987).

Morriss played in over 200 regular season games during his NFL career and started at center for the Eagles in Super Bowl XV.

He later earned a scholarship to Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, graduating in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education.

He played as a guard for the TCU Horned Frogs.

The Philadelphia Eagles selected Morriss in the second round of the 1973 NFL draft.

As a rookie, the Eagles transitioned Morriss into a center.

He played with the Eagles from 1973 to 1983, and started in 151 out of their 158 games in that period.

In March 1984, the Eagles waived Morriss.

He signed with the New England Patriots that offseason, and he played center and guard for the Patriots through the 1987 season.

The Patriots waived Morriss before the 1988 season.

He played in Super Bowl XV for the Eagles and as a backup to Pete Brock in Super Bowl XX for the Patriots.

After he was waived, Morriss accepted a position with the Patriots as the offensive line coach for the 1988 season under Raymond Berry.

In 1992, after a brief stint as the head coach of the Washington Marauders of the Professional Spring Football League, Morriss coached at Valdosta State University under Hal Mumme, who developed the modern air raid offense, and alongside Mike Leach.

Morriss took over a Baylor program that had a 17–61 overall record since joining the Big 12 Conference in 1996.

He later re-joined Mumme and Leach in 1997 at Kentucky, where he was offensive line and assistant head coach.

Morriss was given national recognition for his pass blocking schemes that helped turn Kentucky's offense into one of the best in the nation.

He served as the head football coach at the University of Kentucky for two seasons (2001–2002) and at Baylor University for five seasons (2003–2007).

After a recruiting scandal forced the resignation of Mumme at Kentucky, Morriss was named the school's interim head coach in 2001.

After a 2–9 season, Kentucky named Morriss the school's permanent head coach, where he led the Wildcats to a 7–5 turnaround season in 2002.

Morriss was the losing coach in the "Bluegrass Miracle" game at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002.

Morriss's Kentucky Wildcats kicked a field goal to take the lead over LSU with 11 seconds left, only to lose on an 80-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired.

Seconds before the Hail Mary, Morriss was doused with Gatorade by quarterback Jared Lorenzen in a premature "victory bath".

Morriss resigned from Kentucky to accept the head coaching job for the Baylor Bears in December 2002.

Morriss's first season in 2003 was highlighted by an upset win over Colorado, a 19-point favorite.

The team finished 3–9.

Morriss's second season in 2004 again only led to three wins and one conference win, but Baylor had a 35–34 overtime upset win over #16 Texas A&M (a 25-point favorite), in which Morriss made a gutsy call to "go for two" to win in the first overtime, instead of kicking the extra point and forcing a second overtime.

Morriss's third season in 2005 produced a 5–6 record (BU's best since 1995).

In 2006, Morriss's fourth year, BU had a disappointing 1–3 non-conference mark (including a loss at home to Army).

BU rebounded with a 3–1 start in conference play.

However, the momentum was stunted when quarterback Shawn Bell was injured in a loss to Texas A&M, and Baylor lost their final three games, finishing the year at 4–8 (3–5 in the Big 12).

In 2007, Morriss failed again to produce a winning record for the Bears, as Baylor finished with a 3–9 record.

The loss of a significant number of seniors, including Bell, was part of the blame for the poor season.

In the season opener, Baylor was shut out by TCU, 27–0, but managed to win the next three non-conference games.

On November 18, 2007, Baylor fired Morriss.

On November 28, 2007, former University of Houston head coach Art Briles replaced Morriss.

In March 2008, Morriss accepted a job as a position coach at Kentucky State University.

Afterwards, Baylor did not defeat any of its Big 12 opponents, their last defeat being the 12th consecutive loss in Big 12 play.