Washington State offense adjusts for LA Bowl after losing offensive coordinator Eric Morris

Dec. 15—LOS ANGELES — Following their offensive coordinator's abrupt exit, the Washington State Cougars are distributing play-calling duties among multiple assistant coaches.

Eric Morris, who installed an iteration of the Air Raid system at WSU this season and spent one year in charge of the Cougars' offense, left the program Tuesday to take the head coaching position at North Texas.

On Wednesday, head coach Jake Dickert informed reporters that offensive line coach Clay McGuire and receivers coach Joel Filani — both well-versed in the Air Raid offense — will fill in as co-offensive coordinators for the Cougars' season finale Saturday in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl against Fresno State.

"I've seen both of those guys really progress, as the season has gone, into more of a coordinator mindset and mode," Dickert said after a practice session at Los Angeles Harbor College. "Clay has been calling most of the runs throughout the season anyway. I'm excited about Joel and his vision of the pass game. It's a little different than Eric's."

Morris, McGuire and Filani all come from Mike Leach's coaching tree. The three played for the late coach at Texas Tech in the mid-2000s and worked under him at WSU. Leach, the Air Raid pioneer who led WSU from 2012-19, died Monday evening at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, from heart complications.

McGuire played H-back at Texas Tech and served as a Red Raiders assistant under Leach from 2006-09. The two reunited at WSU. McGuire tutored the Cougars' offensive linemen from 2012-17.

"(Leach) meant everything to me," McGuire said Wednesday during a virtual news conference. "I wouldn't be sitting on this screen right now if it wasn't for coach Leach. ... He meant the world to me, just as he meant to so many others. It's a very sad day for so many people, a very sad day for college football. I'm really, really going to miss him."

McGuire returned to WSU this offseason after making stops at Texas Tech, Texas State and USC.

Filani was a standout receiver for the Red Raiders and played professionally for five years before beginning his coaching career. He landed an offensive quality control job at WSU in 2015. After a couple of three-year stints as receivers coach at North Texas and Texas Tech, Filani rejoined the Cougars this offseason.

Morris was raised in Shallowater, Texas — not far from Texas Tech's campus in Lubbock. A productive receiver with the Red Raiders, Morris earned his first full-time coaching position in 2012 at WSU as Leach's inside receivers coach. After his one-year stay with the Cougars, Morris coordinated his alma mater's offense for five seasons. He then lifted the FCS program at Incarnate Word to unprecedented heights as head coach from 2018-21, and became WSU's OC/quarterbacks coach in January.

Morris was reportedly a finalist for the head coaching job at Texas State earlier this month, but the Bobcats selected his UIW successor, G.J. Kinne.

Asked Wednesday whether Morris' sudden departure came as a surprise, Dickert acknowledged that the timing was a bit jarring, but he wasn't blindsided.

"I knew about it. I think Eric does a good job of being very transparent," Dickert said. "He just landed one of the best Group of Five jobs in the country, back home. I'm so proud of Eric. I fully support him (and his family) and what they want to do of advancing his career. Eric has a head coaching mindset that I have leaned on quite a bit through the last year, and I think we've built up a trust. So, I'm excited for his family and what he's doing.

"Yes, it kind of came out of nowhere. To be honest with you, every once in a while, things happen for a reason. On a day when coach Leach passes, one of the biggest Leach disciples and protégés gets a dream job."

Quarterback Cameron Ward, who starred at UIW under Morris and joined him at WSU this offseason, weighed in on his mentor's departure.

"It was really just shocking to me," Ward said. "I wasn't expecting him to make a decision like that, but I can't be mad at him. He's making a life-changing decision for him and his family. ... (Morris) is a big reason why I'm here at Washington State. Without that, I wouldn't be here, so I'm forever grateful for him.

"For me, it's not even about being angry or anything, because life's too short at this point to even be mad at someone. So, I just thank him for everything he's done for me and my family. To be honest, I'm just happy for him to be able to go back to Texas, where he loves to be, with his family and be able to coach big-time football."

Morris is the third WSU assistant to leave the program since the start of the month, along with defensive coordinator Brian Ward and edge rushers coach A.J. Cooper, both of whom joined Arizona State.

Dickert is handling responsibilities at defensive coordinator — the position he held at WSU during the past two seasons.

"I'll be calling the defensive plays, and it'll be back to where we were last year," he said. "It's been fun for me the last couple of weeks just to get back into the grind of game-planning and coaching, and just really enjoying that phase of it."

Several defensive assistants are working together to keep the edges sharp. McGuire and Filani will be aided by running backs coach Mark Atuaia and offensive analyst Jordan Davis, who mentored Incarnate Word's receivers over the past four years and was Morris' assistant head coach during the past two seasons there.

With the architect of their offense out the door and assistants assuming expanded coaching roles on short notice, the Cougars may have some uneven stretches from their offense, which will also play without starting receivers De'Zhaun Stribling and Donovan Ollie, both of whom entered the transfer portal earlier this month. Senior slot receiver Renard Bell is with the team in L.A., but he'll miss the bowl game.

"At this point in his career, it's not worth the risk of putting him back out there," Dickert said of Bell, who was sidelined for five games this year and is still dealing with the lingering effects of the injury. "He's done an amazing job of being a leader throughout all of this. He's getting back healthy and almost at full strength."

WSU will lean on senior slotback Robert Ferrel, a first-year Cougar and former Incarnate Word standout, and junior outside receiver Lincoln Victor, a team captain. Ferrel was WSU's No. 2 receiver this season with 517 yards and four touchdowns. Victor contributed 216 yards. Freshmen Leyton Smithson (217 yards, two TDs) and Orion Peters (138 yards, one TD) will start at the other two receiver positions.

All of the Cougars' offensive linemen, running backs and quarterbacks made the trip to Southern California.

WSU's offense sorted out its game plan for Fresno State before losing Morris, who flew into Denton, Texas, on Tuesday evening.

"We'd pretty much put together the script and the game plan already, before we got down here," McGuire said. "(Morris leaving) is not going to change our approach to how we run this offense — it'll be called trial by committee. Pretty much every coach on the offensive side of the ball is going to be very involved in what we're doing.

"Obviously, the guy that has the most experience in this offense of anybody is Cam."

Ward had great success during two seasons at Incarnate Word. He was one of the top passers in the FCS last season,and came to WSU as one of the top-rated transfers in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

"So, we're going to put a lot on Cam," McGuire said, "and give him a lot of opportunities to go out there and kind of (lead) in a Mike Leach fashion — give him some formations and things, and let him just roll with it."

Leach was known for granting his quarterbacks a high level of autonomy. He counted on his signal-callers to make reads before the snap and tweak plays on the fly, depending on the defensive formations they saw.

"He never had a playbook. He had 16 plays, then variations off of those at the line of scrimmage," former WSU athletic director Bill Moos said Wednesday of Leach's system.

Ward had been given freedom to operate throughout the regular season. In the postseason, his knowledge of the offense will be tested to an even greater extent.

"You've seen him checking a lot of different things as we've gone," Dickert said. "Now, we're just going to rely on him more, on what he's seeing in and out of series and giving him some sets to get us in the best available (positions). He's ready for it."

An All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection, Ward played well in his first season at WSU. He passed for 3,094 yards and 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions on a 64% completion rate in the regular season. Ward said he's looking forward to Saturday's challenge.

"I think it'll be fun, just being able to go out there and have fun and check plays," he said. "It'll be fun for me and a fun experience for the offense, allowing our playmakers to make plays. ... Whatever coach McGuire is calling, whatever coach Filani, coach Davis are calling, we have to just go execute and play our way."