Eric Morris Officially Named OSU Head Coach with 5-Year Contract
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On Friday, the Oklahoma State Board of Regents unanimously approved the football contract, making Eric Morris the 24th head football coach in program history. The buzz around Morris joining Oklahoma State has been electric over the past week, and the future of Cowboy football looks to be heading in the right direction. Morris and his staff made some early waves with the Cowboys when they were able to flip in-state powerhouse running back Kaydin 'Batman' Jones, who had committed to the Kansas Jayhawks.
REPORT: New Oklahoma State head coach, Eric Morris, will be on a 5-year contract earning $3.8 annually million deal.
— Reagan Harris (OSU Mart) (@OKSTMart) December 3, 2025
It was also included in a $100,000 raise per season. pic.twitter.com/wIMcfahtfX
The five-year deal runs through Jan. 31, 2031, and pays Morris a base salary of $3.8 million in 2026, with a $100,000 annual increase each February 1. The agreement represents a significant raise from the approximately $1.4 million in total compensation he earned in 2025 at North Texas, where he just completed an 11-1 regular season and guided the Mean Green into the American Athletic Conference championship game.
Oklahoma State paid a $2.377 million buyout to release Morris from the final year of his North Texas contract, a figure largely offset by savings from Mike Gundy’s renegotiated September exit. The new contract includes standard Big 12 incentives for bowl appearances, top-25 finishes, academic honors, and College Football Playoff berths, bonuses that could push annual earnings above $4.5 million in later years.
Athletic director Chad Weiberg called the deal an investment in sustained excellence, highlighting Morris’s proven ability to develop quarterbacks and install explosive offenses. At 40, the former Texas Tech assistant and Washington State offensive coordinator has already begun remote work with the Cowboy staff while honoring his commitments in Denton.
Report: Eric Morris set to make $3.8 million annually as #okstate's coach. https://t.co/oRTRlD3Zub
— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) December 4, 2025
Morris will coach North Texas through its upcoming bowl game, which is expected to be announced Sunday before officially transitioning to Stillwater in early January. Sources indicate he plans to add key analysts and coaches from his UNT staff and hit the 2026 recruiting trail immediately after bowl preparations conclude. The timing allows him to close one chapter on a high note while opening another with a program eager to turn the page.
The 2026 recruiting class, already bolstered by in-state flips such as Shawnee offensive lineman Jaqwon Evans, is currently climbing the national team recruiting rankings and is expected to receive another boost once Morris is on the ground full-time. With the contract now executed and the bowl calendar set, the countdown has begun: a few more weeks finishing what he started at North Texas, then the permanent move to Stillwater to lead Oklahoma State into a new era.
Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.