Published: January 07, 2009 12:13 am      

A&M-Commerce to name new football coach

COMMERCE — Texas A&M University-Commerce has called a press conference for this afternoon to name the Lions’ new head football coach.

KWTX news in Baylor reported on its Web site on Tuesday that former Baylor coach Guy Morriss “was accepting the head coaching position” at A&M-Commerce.

A&M-Commerce athletic director Carlton Cooper would not confirm on Tuesday evening that Morriss is the Lions’ new coach, noting that untrue rumors about the position have been circulating for the past week.

“There’s been so many people saying things out there,” said Cooper.

A&M-Commerce began its search for a new head football coach on Dec. 1 after Cooper announced that Scotty Conley had been “relieved of his duties” as head football coach. Conley posted a 24-27 record (.490 winning percentage) in five seasons with the Lions. The 2005, 2006 and 2008 Lions all finished with 5-5 season records.

Morriss has a 29-54 record as a head football coach for the Kentucky Wildcats and Baylor Bears. His Kentucky teams went 2-9 in 2001 and 7-5 in 2002. At Baylor his teams went 3-9 in 2003, 3-8 in 2004, 5-6 in 2005, 4-8 in 2006 and 3-9 in 2007 for an 18-40 record.

Morriss has been an associate head coach for football development at Kentucky State for the past year. The Thorobreds went 3-8 this past season.

Morriss was a standout offensive lineman at Arlington Sam Houston and Texas Christian University. He played in two Super Bowls with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots and earned all-pro honors in 1981.

He also coached as an offensive line coach with the New England Patriots from 1988-89 and with the Arizona Cardinals in 1994, plus was an offensive coordinator for Mansfield High School in 1991 and coached the offensive line at Mississippi State in 1996 and at Kentucky from 1997-2000, where he rose to assistant head coach before taking over the Wildcats’ head coaching duties.

Dr. Dan Jones, A&M-Commerce’s new president, and Cooper made the official announcement on Monday about the press conference, which is set for 3 p.m. at the new Sam Rayburn Memorial Student Center.