Kevin Morris works in Amherst, Mass. now. Yes, it's a
surprise considering he's an Eph through and through. After
23 years of coaching football at six colleges, Morris is getting
his first chance as a head coach of a Division I program, leading
the UMass Minutemen.
Morris, who was born in Huntington, N.Y., and grew up in
Westfield, N.J., was steered towards Williams by his high school
football coach, Gary Kehler. A senior-year bus trip to both Union
and Williams to visit the campuses and meet the coaches and players
sold Morris on Williams.
“Coaching was not a career
that I envisioned prior to enrolling at Williams,” Morris
noted. “I was always involved in sports and accepted
a job as a graduate assistant football coach under Bob Ford at
the University at Albany. My plan was to get a graduate degree
in political science and move to Washington to work in
international relations. The entire football experience,
however, was so impressive to me that here I am 23 seasons
later. Never made it to D.C.”
As he had been at Williams, Morris
was also involved with baseball at Albany as an assistant
coach. “I learned a lot of 'how to coach'
that spring with Ed Zaloom, the head baseball coach (he was also
the offensive coordinator for football). The emphasis at Albany was
football and the staff was tremendous. The energy and
complexity that football offered really appealed to me.”
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| Kevin Morris '86
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With his offensive background,
Morris was assigned to work with the Albany RBs, FBs and QBs. Later
stops on the coaching carousel included stints at WPI as an
assistant (QBs and WRs, defensive coordinator and DBs), Union
College as assistant (DBs, defensive coordinator and DBs),WPI as
head coach (offensive coordinator and QBs), Stony Brook University
as assistant (offensive coordinator and WRs), Northeastern
University as assistant (offensive coordinator and QBs), and
UMass as assistant (offensive coordinator and QBs). As head
coach of the Minutemen he'll also coach the QBs.
The seeds for a career in coaching, even if Morris didn't
see them at the time, were planted on Cole Field and Weston Field,
where he toiled under the tutelage of legendary Eph coaches Bob
Odell and Dick Farley.
“Coach Odell was a
classic,” Morris stated. “He had all the cliches
and understood the game of football. He was a true head coach
and motivator. Coach Farley was the defensive coordinator when
I was at Williams. Coach Farley brought intensity and a great
knowledge of the game to the practice field every
day. I've also spent time with Coach Farley and talked
football and philosophy over the years. Both men were great
for my career at Williams. They understood what role football
played in the student-athletes' lives but also expected to
win.”
For someone who would become a
coach Morris got the most out of his practice opportunities and
game experiences but what he learned on Cole Field at practice
overshadows what he learned on game days.
Looking back on his four years in
the Purple Valley Morris summarizes his football memories with the
following description of his favorite game and practice memories.
“Game day memory was probably my first TD pass as a
backup in a bad loss to Union, at Union,” he recalled.
“My roommate Andy Jeffrey made the catch. But most of
the memories were down at Cole Field during practice. As a
scout team player my freshman year we had a lot of fun with Coach
Farley who ran the scout team. We had three QBs in the
backfield (myself, Tom Goodspeed and Jeff Lifson) one goal line
scrimmage. We must have scored three times in a row and
were rubbing it in with some end zone dances.”
Thanks to Dick Farley that success
rate was about to change and the end zone dances were about
end. “Coach Farley made some sarcastic comment
to the starting defense about three frosh QBs scoring on
them. That didn't help us as John Kowalik, senior captain and
defensive lineman, did not take kindly to Farley's
words. Kowalik fired up the defense and we got crushed the
next bunch of plays.
“Another memory was the week
of homecoming [1982] when Tim Curran '83 gave an unbelievable
speech to the team,” noted Morris. “After practice
in November, sitting on the frozen turf in the pitch black
listening to a great talk from the heart of a great competitor
as Curran spelled out in explicit detail in his inspired talk the
differences between Williams and Wesleyan. It's a great
tradition.”
Last May 3, the morning after the
Maroon & White scrimmage at UMass, Morris was in Wahconah Park
in Pittsfield, Mass., playing in the re-creation of the 1859
baseball game against Amherst alums as part of the 150th year
celebration of America's first college game. With Morris
wielding a big stick, the Ephs prevailed for the third straight
time over Amherst in re-creation contests, 19-17. “It was a
great day catching up with old teammates and seeing Coach Briggs,
complete with top hat,” stated Morris. “Any time you
can compete against Amherst and win, it's a great
day.”
Morris'
UMass Minutemen will play James Madison University on November 14
when the Ephs host Amherst for the 124th game in the storied
rivalry, but Morris will be seeking out the score from Williamstown
moments after his team's game and hoping for a double.
“Ideally, as I'm walking off the field after a
UMass victory over JMU I'll hear the good news from
Williamstown,” he said. After all, any win by Williams over
Amherst makes for a great day!
