Oklahoma State Shouldn't Put Pressure on Eric Morris Despite Recent Struggles

The Cowboys have won only four game in the past two seasons, but that frustration can't be taken out on their new head coach.

Oct 25, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general view of an Oklahoma State Cowboys helmet on the field before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State has been one of the worst teams in the FBS over the past two years, but it can’t get too focused on immediate success.

Last season was a disaster in just about every way for OSU. After losing its starting quarterback in the first quarter of the season, it dropped two nonconference battles before sending Mike Gundy out. 

With another nine losses to finish out the year under Doug Meacham and enter the offseason on an 11-game losing streak, the Cowboys were clearly in need of some big changes. So, they went and hired Eric Morris from North Texas, who led a remarkable turnaround for the Mean Green in his time at the helm.

While it only took a few years to get North Texas one game away from a College Football Playoff berth, there should be a bit more leeway in Stillwater. Winning in the Big 12 isn’t easy, and there shouldn’t be any expectation from within that Morris should immediately have the Pokes back in the conference title picture.

While fans and media can look at the incoming talent and the quick turnarounds that can happen in the transfer portal era, it’s still incredibly difficult to turn a 1-11 team into a contender in one year. Sure, there’s a chance that the immense amount of turnover in Stillwater effectively means that this era is starting with a blank slate.

The players and coaches from that 1-11 team are mostly gone, so this is a bit different than the task of turning around a one-win team from 10 years ago. Still, it’s arguably just as difficult to start with an entirely blank slate.

As OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg noted after firing Mike Gundy back in September, there would be no timeline for success put on the new coach. And after seeing the big-name commitments and the overall hype surrounding the program, including some tabbing the Cowboys as a College Football Playoff dark horse next season, it might be easy to get caught up in wanting big results now.

However, OSU can’t afford to stray from its process. This is a commitment to Morris that has to last for years in an attempt to get the program back to being a consistent Big 12 player. If success comes immediately in Stillwater under Morris, that’s great for the program and the best-case scenario. But if it takes some time to get back to contention and there are some growing pains along the way, OSU has to remember that was all part of the original plan.

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