FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks didn't land their top target Gus Malzahn to be their head football coach, but they appear on the verge of hiring the Texas-based version of Malzahn.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Chad Morris was involved in negotiations with University of Arkansas, Fayetteville officials and on the brink of an agreement on Tuesday evening.
Morris, who turned 49 on Monday, became a top target for Arkansas after Malzahn spurned an offer from the Razorbacks to return to his old stomping grounds on Sunday. He had been on Arkansas' radar since interim Athletic Director Julie Cromer Peoples fired fifth-year Coach Bret Bielema on Nov. 24.
Morris, a proponent of the up-tempo Spread offense, shot through the high school ranks in Texas much like Malzahn did in Arkansas in roughly the same time period. He won three state championships in his 16 years as a head coach in Texas, his first at Bay City in 2000, then back-to-back crowns at Lake Travis in 2008-09.