Eric Morris Trying to Solve Oklahoma State Football’s ‘Psychology Problem’

The numbers are stunning when one considers how good Oklahoma State had been for the past 20 years.

The Cowboys went 1-11 in 2025. They went 3-9 the year before. Oklahoma State was 4-20 in their last 24 games. Plus, the Cowboys haven’t won a Big 12 regular season game since they beat BYU in the 2023 regular season finale.

All of this came after the Cowboys went to the 2023 Big 12 Championship game, where they lost to Texas. It was their second Big 12 Championship game appearance in three years.

It’s been a stunning turnabout that cost Mike Gundy his job and led to the hiring of Eric Morris. Morris is already rebuilt two programs — Incarnate Word and North Texas. Oklahoma State might be his toughest job.

For the handful of players that stayed with the program, Morris has made it a point to help recalibrate their mentality after two years of losing.

A ‘Psychology’ Reset

What has @CowboyFB head coach @__CoachMorris learned since taking the job in Stillwater?

He told @ChildersRadio and @CoachNeuheisel about rebuilding the Cowboys' culture on Full Ride. pic.twitter.com/iXFaYYJKeB
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) August 27, 2026

Morris knows what it’s like when Boone Pickens Stadium is rocking. He played college football at Texas Tech, which means he played there as a visitor when the Cowboys were building up under Gundy, as he told College Sports on SiriusXM recently.

“My memories when I was in the Big 12 as a player and a coach, like Oklahoma State was always so good,” he said.

Cowboys like LaDainain Fields, who is expected to be a starting cornerback this year, hasn’t experienced that. The Class of 2024 recruit wasn’t part of the 2023 team that reached the Big 12 title game. Jakobe Sanders, who is a backup offensive lineman, was. But two years of losing has likely been hard on him and the few others that were part of that team.

Morris called it his “psychology problem” this offseason — how to get those players used to the idea of winning again.

“I had to come in here and make sure we reset this culture and understand that we have so many guys, even the guys that stayed here, who haven't been around a winning program. They haven't seen what that looks like. They haven't felt that in the locker room.”

Morris said he almost had to erase his own experiences in Stillwater as a former player and Texas Tech assistant coach. They were irrelevant to this group and to the raft of transfers who joined the Cowboys — nearly 90 in all. Nearly everyone on the team hasn’t played for a winning Oklahoma State football team.

That’s a culture shift that even Morris had to make — and is still making as the Tulsa game draws near.

Add us as a preferred source on Google