Dorman football to promote lead assistant, alum Jake Morris to head coach

Dorman High School's football program will promote associate head coach and offensive line coach Jake Morris to head coach, having been named the interim following the departure of Dustin Curtis, who left due to a family medical matter in February.

Curtis, who finished 9-3 in his lone season in Roebuck, was later named the new coach and athletic director at his alma mater, Lexington.

Like Curtis, Morris is now the coach of his alma mater, having played offensive line at Dorman. He was a captain on the 2009 state championship-winning team.

He played at North Greenville under current Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell — for his two seasons at NGU — and was a four-year starter and member of the 2010 NCCAA National Championship team, before returning to Dorman as an assistant football and assistant strength coach nine years ago.

“Coach Morris has been an intricate part of our athletic program and is a product of Spartanburg School District Six," Dorman athletic director Jon Stoehr said in a news release. "We are thankful to have someone lead our program who is fully committed to our students and the District Six family. We are confident this will be a smooth transition for our players and coaches.”

The official announcement will be made at a press conference at 4 p.m. Monday.

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The Morris hire falls in line with the direction Dorman has taken with other athletic positions in the past year: Younger coaches with deep roots in its programs.

Athletic director Jon Stoehr was an assistant coach on Dorman's basketball staff before being promoted to AD in March 2022; Ashlen Dewart-Dorn was a former star for Dorman's girls basketball team before being named Dorman's girls basketball coach in May 2022. Both coaches also are under the age of 40.

Though this will be Morris' first head coach job at the varsity level, he has served as a head coach at every other level in the Cavalier program; from middle school to ninth grade and junior varsity.

“My family and I are so honored for this opportunity. This is a lifelong dream come true and we are so excited to see what the future holds for the Cavaliers,” Morris said in the release.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Dorman football: Alumnus Jake Morris to be promoted head coach