STILLWATER — Eric Morris is one of the new kids on the block where Big 12 coaches are concerned, but his accolades put the new Cowboys coach into the top half of the conference.
His career record of 46-34 ranks him eighth in the conference in total wins. His winning percentage (57.5%) ranks ninth among Big 12 coaches to coach more than one game.
Big 12 coaches ranked by total wins:
1. Willie Fritz (HOU): 261
2. Rich Rodriguez (WVU): 192
3. Lance Leipold (KU): 173
4. Sonny Dykes (TCU): 107
5. Scott Satterfield (CIN): 87
6. Kalani Sitake (BYU): 84
7. Brent Brennan (Zona): 47
8. Eric Morris (OSU): 46
9. Deion Sanders (CU): 43
10. Scott Frost (UCF): 40
11. Dave Aranda (BU): 36
12. Joey McGuire (TTU): 35
13. Jimmy Rogers (ISU): 33
14. Kenny Dillingham (ASU): 22
15. Morgan Scalley (Utah): 1
16. Collin Klein (KST): N/A
Of course, four of his seven seasons came at Icarnate Word. Taken alone, that stretch might not be indicative of success at the Big 12 level, but his winning percentage actually jumped up slightly at North Texas, where he won 57.9% of his games.
That consistency is noteworthy because his peers across the conference can’t say the same. If you only look at FBS records, Morris’ winning percentage jumps up to fourth in the conference. He trails only Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire (66% at the FBS level), BYU coach Kalani Sitake (65.1%) and West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez (59%).
Here’s the rest of the list:
5. Sonny Dykes (TCU): 57.2%
6. Willie Fritz (HOU): 56.7%
7. Kenny Dillingham (ASU): 56.4%
8. Jimmy Rogers (ISU): 50%
9. Dave Aranda (BU): 49.3%
10. Lance Leipold (KU): 48.5%
11. Scott Frost (UCF): 47.1%
12. Scott Satterfield (CIN): 46.5%
13. Brent Brennan (Zona): 43.9%
14. Deion Sanders (CU): 42.1%
Utah coach Morgan Scalley is 1-0, while Kansas State’s Collin Klein is a first-time head coach.
Twelve of the conference head coaches have guided a team to a Top 25 finish in the final AP Poll, which comes out following the national championship each season.
Morris is one of seven to do so only once, although North Texas’ finish of 24th put him in a two-way tie for 10th among these coaches.
Rodriguez leads the way with five Top 25 finishes in 19 years at the FBS level. Sitake is a close second, with four Top 25 finishes in 10 seasons.
Dykes, Fritz and Leipold each had two such seasons, while the rest on the list are one-hit wonders to date.
Percent of seasons ended in Top 25:
Kalani Sitake: 40%
Kenny Dillingham: 33%
Eric Morris: 33%
Deion Sanders: 33%
Rich Rodriguez: 26%
Joey McGuire: 25%
Lance Leipold: 18.2%
Willie Fritz: 16.7%
Dave Aranda: 16.7%
Sonny Dykes: 12.5%
Scott Frost: 12.5%
Brent Brennan: 11.1%
Morris has a lot more competition when asking what have you done lately. He’s one of seven current Big 12 coaches to finish ranked in either 2024 or 2025.
Of those, recent Big 12 champions Dillingham and McGuire each finished seventh after advancing to the College Football Playoff. Sitake led the Cougars to an 11th-place finish in 2025, but the rest of the recent “successes” are down in 20s.
Frost hasn’t helmed a ranked squad since 2017, while Rodriguez’s last ranked campaign occurred in 2014.
Across the three categories (total wins, FBS winning percentage and percentage of FBS seasons ranked), eight coaches separated themselves, led by Sitake, who averaged third across the categories, ahead of Rodriguez by the smallest of margins.
Morris and Fritz tied for an average finish at fifth place while McGuire, Dykes and Leipold all ranked between sixth and seventh on average, leaving Dillingham to finish just above eighth across the combined categories.
The Arizona State coach’s place in the middle is perhaps the biggest sign that this math is all a bit contrived, since his success with the Sun Devils should probably earn him a place above Morris. Still, most would probably rank the seven outside of Stillwater firmly in the top half of the Big 12’s current crop.
Morris will get the chance to prove he belongs in the top grouping this fall when he kicks off conference play against Rodriguez on Sept. 26th. Other noteworthy coaches the Cowboys face include a road trip against Fritz on Oct. 17, a home game against McGuire on Nov. 14, a road game against Dillingham on Nov. 21 and a home finale against Leipold on Nov. 28.
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.
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