Morris Watts, longtime Michigan State OC under George Perles, dies at 88
Morris Watts coached 12 seasons at Michigan State and won two Big Ten championships as offensive coordinator.
Morris Watts, a longtime offensive coordinator for the Michigan State football team who coached three games as interim head coach in 2002, has died according to a university release. He was 88 years old. Born in Seneca, Mo.
, Watts started his football career as a tailback for Tulsa from 1958 to 1960. When he graduated in 1961, he started a football coaching career that spanned 54 seasons at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. We mourn the passing of former longtime coach Morris Watts.
Watts served as our offensive coordinator from 1986-90, 1992-94, and 1999-2002, and as interim head coach in 2002. We send our deepest condolences to the Watts family. pic.
twitter. com/fhNwx5NSXD ā Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) May 8, 2026 Watts' NCAA stops, mostly as an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach, spanned 10 different schools including Drake, Louisville, Indiana, Kansas, LSU, Michigan State and Mississippi State before a brief retirement from 2004-2007. Then Watt came back and coached at Miami (Ohio), Central Michigan, Arkansas and Texas Southern until he retired for good in 2018.