How Eric Morris Showed Empathy for Joey McGuire During Tumultuous Summer

The Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach was the first one to reach out to the Texas Tech boss after the Brendan Sorsby news broke.

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FRISCO, Texas — Coaching is a fraternity, in good times and in bad times. Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire found that out earlier this summer.

McGuire, who has led the program for five years, was in the center of the storm surrounding quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s gambling investigation, addiction acknowledgement and the lawsuit that briefly allowed him to play college football this year. Sorsby is now out of college and preparing for the 2027 NFL Draft.

It was a firestorm. It was nothing like what McGuire had dealt with before. During several media availabilities on Tuesday, he said the coaching community checked on him. That included BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and even Texas’ Steve Sarkisian.

But, as it turns out, Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris was the first to reach out to him when Sorsby’s injunction was approved.

Why Eric Morris Reached out to Joey McGuire

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Morris has known McGuire for years. Morris also knows Tech well. He’s a Shallowater, Texas, native, which is 20 miles outside of Lubbock. He played at Texas Tech for Mike Leach, and he coached at Texas Tech. He and McGuire’s paths have crossed plenty over the years, including while McGuire was a high school coach at Cedar Hill outside Fort Worth, Texas.

Morris didn’t text McGuire. He called him. He said in that moment he sensed that McGuire just need a friendly voice.

“I told him when we got on the phone, I said, ‘Hey we’re not talking about the situation that’s going on right now,’” Morris said. “Let’s talk about you and how you’re holding up. Do you need me? Do you need to vent? Everything that is said here is off the record. I think it’s just being a good human being and understanding that it’s not fun to be but into those fires.”

McGuire talked about how much he appreciated those coaches reaching out to him during those days as Sorsby, along with Tech’s handling of the situation, engulfed college football. He said that Morris’ call was a “wellness check.”

“Kalani, a great friend of mine, said the same thing [wellness check],” McGuire said. “Kenny Dillingham made a joke in a group text and called me and said, ‘You know I was kidding.’ I said, ‘Kenny, dude, I get it, man.’”

“For me, my peers, I had so much support from my peers,” McGuire said.

Later this season the Red Raiders will head to Stillwater to play the Cowboys on Nov. 14 at Boone Pickens Stadium. Morris was already fielding questions about the game, which is four months away, given his ties to Tech as a player and assistant coach. But he didn’t bite. He’s more concerned about spring workouts — and his fellow coaches — than a game that won’t kick off for nearly four months.