College Coaching Carousel: Chad Morris brings the deep ball to Arkansas

After five mostly subpar seasons with Brett Bielema at the helm, Arkansas needed a change. A 29-34 record just doesn’t cut it in a state that bleeds Razorback football.

So, who did the program hire to replace Bielema? A former high school coach who posted a 14-22 record in the American Athletic Conference, of course.

But Chad Morris isn't your typical sub-.500 coach. He took over one of the worst programs in college football when he landed at SMU in December 2014. With the Mustangs coming off a 1-11 season, Morris eased the team into respectability, going 2-10 in Year 1, 5-7 in Year 2, and 7-5 in Year 3.

It takes time to build a successful program, and Morris proved he is up for the challenge, no matter how daunting.

Offensive philosophy

On paper, Morris' "smashmouth spread" system, where he uses a downfield passing attack to set up the run, appears to be a radical change from Bielema's pro-style offense. Bielema deployed a slow but monstrous offensive line and a downhill, power rushing attack while Morris will look to increase the tempo, spread defenses out, and chuck the ball downfield.

If Arkansas football was a Mack truck, it's going to look more like a Lamborghini as long as Morris is in charge.

Even though Morris is stuck with the players recruited for Bielema’s plodding system, he does have the personnel to execute most of his system at a high level. Contrary to popular belief, Arkansas was actually very good at throwing the ball deep last year. While Cole Kelley, who performed well after taking over for Austin Allen last year, is expected to win the starting quarterback competition, he is being pushed by former four-star recruit Ty Storey.

Whoever wins the competition will lead an offense that will move at a feverish pace, looking to land haymakers. Morris is an aggressive-minded play-caller who tries to push the ball downfield at every turn, meaning the talented wide receiver trio of Deon Stewart, Jonathan Nance, and Jordan Jones could be in for a big year.

Expect to see a lot more of this in 2018:

That said, haymakers only work if the opponent is worried about defending something else. So when teams lighten the box to defend the deep passing game, Morris takes advantage of his numbers near the line of scrimmage with his inside zone, power and counter concepts.

Morris demonstrates the classic tenets of power football in his rushing attack. He wants to use double teams to displace defenders with pulling linemen to create running lanes - similar to Bielema’s run offense:

Defensive philosophy

Defense has been Morris' Achilles heel over his college coaching career; SMU consistently ranked near the bottom of the nation in yardage allowed. Knowing that, Morris brought in the biggest available name, John Chavis, as Razorbacks defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Having held the same position at Tennessee, LSU, and Texas A&M, Chavis earned a reputation as one of the best DCs in college football by leading 10 top-10 defenses through those three stops.

Chavis will be switching the defense from a 3-4 to primarily a 4-3, though he's emphasized that Arkansas will use multiple fronts throughout a game. Chavis' defenses are known for their ability to get after opposing quarterbacks, which would be a welcome site in Fayetteville. Chavis coaxed 43 sacks out of a ragtag defensive line at Texas A&M last season, while Arkansas recorded just 19.

Unfortunately for Chavis, he is not inheriting a talented defense - and Morris' offense will do him no favors, either. One byproduct of an up-tempo offense is a high number of possessions in a game, meaning Chavis' defense will be on the field a lot regardless of whether it's good:

While the defense may not initially be as successful as Chavis is used to, there's little doubt that the unit will be improved in 2018. Coming off a year where the team ranked 114th in the nation in scoring defense and 101st in total defense, there's nowhere to go but up.

Junior lineman McTelvin Agim should benefit greatly from Chavis' system, as he struggled a bit in Bielema's 3-4 defense last season.

Season outlook

Arkansas should improve on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The program is going to be more efficient and a lot of fun to watch; however, that might not manifest itself in the team's win-loss mark.

In the toughest division in football, Arkansas has to fight for every single victory. The best-case scenario for the Razorbacks this season would be sneaking into bowl eligibility with an upset or two along the way. Morris has the offensive personnel and defensive coaching staff to pull it off.

The key for Morris and the Arkansas football program's future is recruiting. Since Arkansas isn't exactly a hotbed of football talent, it's vital for Morris to leverage his Texas ties to recruit in the Lone Star State, along with the areas surrounding Arkansas, such as Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Other entries in this series:

• Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee)
• Joe Moorhead (Mississippi State)
• Herm Edwards (Arizona State)
• Willie Taggart (Florida State)
• Scott Frost (Nebraska)
• Dan Mullen (Florida)
• Kevin Sumlin (Arizona)
• Chip Kelly (UCLA)

John Owning is a football writer at theScore. He has written for Bleacher Report and Football Insiders. He was also the lead NFL content editor at FanRag Sports. John provides analysis on the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News and edits for The Quant Edge. Find him on Twitter @JohnOwning.