5 potential replacements for Chad Morris at Arkansas

With his second season looking no better than his first, here are five candidates to step in if Chad Morris is fired by Arkansas.

Losing to Alabama, even with a backup quarterback playing for the Crimson Tide, is not necessarily a huge black mark against a coach. But the Arkansas Razorbacks were thoroughly outclassed Saturday night, losing 48-7 and only scoring in the fourth quarter to stave off a shutout. The Razorbacks are now 2-6 in Chad Morris’ second season as head coach.

After the disappointing tenure of Bret Bielema, Morris has been challenged to reshape Arkansas’ roster in a more modern image. But he is now 4-16 over two seasons in Fayetteville, with zero wins over Power Five schools and obviously an 0-13 record in SEC play now.

Competing in the loaded SEC West, with Alabama, LSU, Auburn and even Texas A&M, is a tough bargain. So that has to keep expectations in check for Arkansas, and even if they win three of the last four games this season, with Mississippi State, Western Kentucky, LSU and Missouri left on the schedule, 5-7 is the high watermark.

With the $11.9 million buyout they’re paying to Bielema, or actually not paying him as it currently stands amid legal action from the former head coach’s end, firing Morris and paying his buyout ($8 to $10 million) would be extra expensive for Arkansas. And with a shallow pool of candidates from smaller schools right now, a new hire is hardly assured to be an upgrade.

But it’s a results-based business, and if the Razorbacks post back-to-back 2-10 seasons or anything close it’ll be hard to justify keeping Morris. Here are five candidates to take over if Morris is let go after the season.

5. Justin Wilcox, Cal head coach

The Golden Bears started 4-0 this season, including a nice win over Washington and a win over an SEC team (Ole Miss). Even though they now sit at 4-4 Wilcox has done a solid job now into his third season as head coach (16-17 overall record), driven by notable improvement defensively.

Wilcox has high-level experience as a defensive coordinator, at Boise State (2006-2009), Tennessee (2010-2011), Washington (2012-2013), USC (2014-2015) and Wisconsin (2016) prior to taking the job at Cal. So if he really gets a turnaround going in Berkeley, which he arguably already has, other schools are likely to come calling.

Wilcox seems like an odd fit for Arkansas, and it feels like it would be a lateral move for him (leaving aside any likely bump in pay). But he is being speculated on as a candidate to replace Morris, in what’s seen as a pool of candidates that’s short on hot names from smaller schools.