Bobby Morrison (American football)
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 24, 1945 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 2024 (aged 79) Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Findlay College |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1967-1969 | Bowling Green State University (graduate assistant) |
| 1970-1973 | William & Mary (assistant coach) |
| 1974-1975 | VMI (Linebackers, Offensive Guards, Centers) |
| 1976-1979 | North Carolina State (assistant coach) |
| 1980-1981 | LSU (Linebackers coach) |
| 1982-1986 | Navy (Defensive Coordinator) |
| 1987-2002 | Michigan (assistant coach) |
Bobby Morrison (April 24, 1945 – December 8, 2024) was an American college football coach. Morrison played collegiately at Findlay College. He coached for 31 years at seven programs, including Virginia, William & Mary, VMI, North Carolina State, LSU, Navy, and Michigan.[1][2]
Player
[edit]Morrison was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and graduated from Findlay College in 1967. He was a linebacker for the Findlay football team.[3]
Coach
[edit]In the early 1970s, Morrison was the linebackers coach at William & Mary under Lou Holtz and Jim Root.[4] During the 1974 and 1975 seasons, he was an assistant coach in charge of linebackers and, later, offensive guards and centers at the Virginia Military Institute.[5] In March 1976, he was hired as an assistant coach at North Carolina State under Bo Rein, who succeeded Holtz in Raleigh after the latter took the head coaching position with the National Football League's New York Jets.[6]
In December 1979, when Rein left NC State for LSU to succeed Charles McClendon, he brought six of his assistant coaches, including Morrison, with him.[7][8] Although Rein perished in a plane crash only 42 days after accepting the LSU post, Morrison was retained by Jerry Stovall and coached the Bayou Bengals' inside linebackers for two seasons.[9]
In 1982, Morrison joined the coaching staff at Navy and became the team's defensive coordinator. His defensive backs coach during his first season in Annapolis was Nick Saban, who went on to win seven national championships as head coach at LSU and Alabama. Morrison remained at Navy through the 1986 season.[10]
He was an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan from 1987 to 2002. Hired in 1987 by Bo Schembechler, he served as the team's outside linebackers coach (1987–1994), offensive line coach (1995–1996), recruiting coordinator (1996–2002), and special teams coach (1997–2002). As Michigan's recruiting coordinator, he helped Michigan secure recruiting classes ranked in the top ten nationally in seven of eight years, including the top-rated recruiting class in 1998.[1][11][12]
Death
[edit]Morrison died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on December 8, 2024, at the age of 79.[13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Morrison Takes Leave of Absence from U-M Football". University of Michigan. February 6, 2002.
- ^ "Bobby Morrison To Retire". TheWolverine.com. February 6, 2002.
- ^ "NCS Staff Filled". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 5, 1976.
- ^ "Irish Prepare for Michigan". University of Notre Dame. August 30, 1999. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ^ "Keydets' Willison Lineman Of Week". Toledo Blade. October 8, 1974.
- ^ "Morrison joins N.C. State staff". Star-News. March 5, 1976.
- ^ "Rein takes State aides". Star-News. December 13, 1979.
- ^ "Rein Names Four, Goes Recruiting". Schenectady Gazette. December 3, 1979.
- ^ "LSU Football All-Time Assistant Coaches". LSU Sports.
- ^ "Transactions". Times-Union. January 13, 1987.
- ^ "Traveling takes toll, but it has benefits". The Detroit News. January 31, 1999.
- ^ Bell, Taylor (February 5, 1998). "Michigan reaps its reward: No. 1 Wolverines land nation's top recruiting class". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. "Bobby Morrison, longtime Michigan football assistant coach, dies at 79". The Detroit News. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Robert "Bobby" Morrison". Nie Funeral Homes. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- 1945 births
- 2024 deaths
- Findlay Oilers football players
- LSU Tigers football coaches
- Michigan Wolverines football coaches
- Navy Midshipmen football coaches
- NC State Wolfpack football coaches
- Virginia Cavaliers football coaches
- VMI Keydets football coaches
- William & Mary Tribe football coaches
- Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio
- Coaches of American football from Ohio