Steve Morrison (American football)

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Steve Morrison
Bowling Green Falcons
Position:Defensive coordinator
Linebackers coach
Personal information
Born: (1971-12-28) December 28, 1971 (age 52)
Birmingham, Michigan, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College:Michigan
Undrafted:1995
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
  • Brother Rice HS (MI) (2000–2001)
    Defensive coordinator
  • Michigan (2002–2004)
    Assistant coach
  • Western Michigan (2005)
    Defensive line coach
  • Western Michigan (2006–2007)
    Linebackers coach
  • Western Michigan (2008–2009)
    Defensive coordinator
  • Eastern Michigan (2010–2011)
    Linebackers coach
  • Syracuse (2012–2013)
    Linebackers coach
  • Bowling Green (2019–2022)
    Associate head coach & linebackers coach
  • Bowling Green (2023–present)
    Defensive coordinator & linebackers coach
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Fumble recoveries:4
Interceptions:2
Quarterback sacks:2
Games played:58
Games started:29
Player stats at NFL.com

Steven Craig Morrison (born December 28, 1971) is a retired professional

All-American in lacrosse
.

After retiring from professional football as a player, he gained his first two years of coaching experience as the defensive coordinator for Michigan High School Athletic Association football champion Brother Rice High School (his high school alma mater). He then served as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan for three years. He then assumed a role as an assistant at Western Michigan University. At Western Michigan, he has served as the linebacker coach after spending a year as the defensive line coach. The 2009 Western Michigan Broncos season marked Morrison's fifth season on the team's staff, his fourth as linebacker coach and his second as defensive coordinator. He then went on to serve as the linebackers coach at Eastern Michigan and Syracuse. In 2019, he was hired as the associate head coach/ linebackers coach at Bowling Green State University. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Morrison was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Early years

Barbara Morrison, Steve's mother, says Steve was read his

soccer when he was a youth.[4]

High school

Rose Bowl
.

Morrison competed for Brother Rice High School of the

All-American in lacrosse, along with Brother Rice and Michigan football teammate Gannon Dudlar.[12] He was a Catholic High School League Hall of Fame athlete and was inducted in the 1995 Hall of Fame class that included Shawn Respert, among others.[5]

College

Morrison holds the total tackles record for Michigan Stadium.

After attending Brother Rice High School in

Rose Bowl.[22][23] During the 1992 season, he replaced Anderson, who had led Michigan in tackles four consecutive seasons,[24] as the defensive signal caller.[25] He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after making 15 tackles against Purdue Boilermakers on October 31, 1992.[26] He was named the 1992 winner of The Roger Zatkoff
Award as the team's best linebacker.

He became team captain in 1994 for coach Gary Moeller.[27] On a team that had two All-Americans (Ty Law and Remy Hamilton), he was one of six All-Big Ten players (Law, Hamilton, Tyrone Wheatley, Amani Toomer and Jason Horn) and a Butkus Award semifinalist.[27][28] Morrison earned his bachelor's degree in sports management and communications in 1994 from Michigan.[29]

At the time of his graduation, he ranked third in career

calf, which necessitated surgical repair to stop internal bleeding,[33] during his 1990 freshman season, for which he earned a medical redshirt season by the NCAA. As a sophomore (redshirt freshman), he sat out four games with a broken leg. In 1993, he missed the first seven games with a broken foot.[1]

Professional career

NFL

He was not drafted in the

1996–1997 NFL playoffs with a 9–7 record, only to fall in the wild card game to the Steelers again.[39] Morrison started 31 games over the course of his career,[29] including 29 regular season games.[40] In 1997 and 1998, the team had losing seasons, although Morrison started more games as his career progressed. Morrison was signed by the Detroit Lions for the 1999 NFL season,[41] but he was waived before the season started.[42]

Early coaching experience

He served as the

outside linebackers coach.[46][47]

Western Michigan (2005–2009)

In

2006, Morrison assumed the linebacker coach position. The defense immediately produced results: #1 in the country in interceptions, #1 in sacks per game, and a Mid-American Conference record rushing yards per game defense. In addition to the team numbers he fostered Ameer Ismail, the nation's leader in quarterback sacks and tackles for a loss.[29]

On March 12, 2008, after defensive coordinator

2009 NFL Draft.[58] After a disappointing 2009 Western Michigan season in which WMU ranked 102 out of 120 Division I teams, Morrison was fired and replaced by former Hofstra coach Dave Cohen.[59][60]

Eastern Michigan (2010–2011)

Morrison served as the linebackers coach for Eastern Michigan University under head coach Ron English and defensive coordinator Phil Snow.[61] The 2010 Eagles posted a 2–10 record.

Syracuse (2012–2013)

In January 2012, Steve Morrison joined the Syracuse Orangemen football team staff as the linebackers coach, reuniting with his former Western Michigan defensive coordinator, Scott Schafer, the defensive coordinator for the Syracuse Orangemen.[62] He also joined former Michigan teammate Tyrone Wheatley on the coaching staff.[citation needed] In January 2013, Morrison left the team for "personal reasons".[63]

Bowling Green (2019–)

Morrison was hired by former Michigan teammate Scot Loeffler to be his associate head coach and linebackers coach for the Bowling Green Falcons football.[64]

Family

In college, Morrison's family hosted various teammates such as

Christmas Day morning with local families.[65] Morrison is married to former University of Michigan softball captain Mary Campana. The couple had their third child on May 23, 2007. They now have three sons: Alexander (8–29–01), Marco (11–18–04) and Roman (5–23–07).[29][61]

References

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  61. ^ a b "Steve Morrison Named Assistant Football Coach". Eastern Michigan University. March 15, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  62. ^ "Meet Linebackers Coach Steve Morrison". Syracuse University. April 12, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  63. ^ "'Cuse assistant abruptly quits, is quickly replaced". NBC Sports. January 21, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
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External links

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