Chuck Morrell (born ) is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach and former player. He is the co-

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

and

safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the ...

coach at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. He was the safeties coach at

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

from 2020 to 2021. Before that, he spent nine years as the head coach for

Montana Tech Montana Technological University, popularly known as Montana Tech, is a public university in Butte, Montana. Founded in 1900 as the Montana State School of Mines, the university became affiliated with the University of Montana in 1994. After und ...

. He attended

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

, was part of

Kalen DeBoer Kalen Douglas DeBoer (born October 24, 1974) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Washington. DeBoer served as the head football coach at the University of Sioux Falls from 2005 to 2009 and California S ...

's coaching staff during a five-year run in which Sioux Falls won three

NAIA Football National Championship The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football National Championship is decided by a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA college football teams in the United States. Under sponsorship of the National Associa ...

Playing career

Morrell grew up in

Tyndall, South Dakota Tyndall (pronounced TIN'-duhl) is a city in and the county seat of Bon Homme County, South Dakota, Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,057 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Tyndall was establi ...

and attended Bon Homme High School. His father, Russ Morrell, was the long-time head football coach and one of the winningest coaches in South Dakota high school history. He was recruited out of high school by

University of Sioux Falls The University of Sioux Falls (USF) is a private BaptistChristian university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. In fall 2014, the university enrolled a total of 1,142 undergraduate students and ...

head coach Bob Young, but initially attended the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

before transferring to Sioux Falls. His undergraduate track was

pre-medical Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

, and he planned to become a doctor. Morrell played

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the Sioux Falls Cougars from 1995 through 1997. The 1996 team won the

NAIA Division II Football National Championship The NAIA Division II Football National Championship was a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA Division II college football teams in the United States. It was played annually between 1970 and 1996 when NAIA football play was divided ...

, the final such title before the NAIA eliminated divisions. Morrell led his team in tackles that year. Among his teammates in those years was

, then a wide receiver.

Coaching career

Morrell graduated from Sioux Falls in 1998 and Bob Young offered him a position on his staff as a defensive assistant. After one year, Young promoted him to

. DeBoer, after a stint as a high school coach, joined the staff as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

in 2000. When Young retired after the 2004 season, DeBoer succeeded him. According to Morrell, he was offered the opportunity but declined, believing DeBoer was better suited to the role. Morrell continued as defensive coordinator. Over the next five years the Cougars appeared in the playoffs every year, won three

s, and lost a fourth. Morell resigned after the 2009 season to become defensive coordinator at

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. DeBoer left a few weeks later to become offensive coordinator at

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

. South Dakota was then a member of the

Great West Conference The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following ...

, part of the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

. Head coach

Ed Meierkort Ed Meierkort (born March 24, 1959) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Stout from 1993 to 2003 and University of South Dakota from 2004 to 2011, compiling a career college footbal ...

, in the role since 2004, was in his second-to-last season. Morrell spent only one year there before accepting the head coaching job at

, an NAIA school. Morrell succeeded Bob Green, who retired after 24 seasons. Morrell would serve as head coach from 2011 through 2019, compiling an overall record of 52–44. Highlights of his tenure included three appearances in the NAIA playoffs, though Montana Tech never advanced beyond the quarterfinals. He was named the

Frontier Conference The Frontier Conference is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference was founded in 1934. Member institut ...

Coach of the Year three times. Morrell was lured away from

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, when Kalen DeBoer, the newly appointed head coach of

, offered him the position of defensive backs coach. Morrell commented at the time that "there's only one or two people in the entire world that I would leave Montana Tech to go work for." When DeBoer departed after the 2021 season to become head coach at

, Morrell went with him as co-defensive coordinator (with

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

) and safeties coach.

Personal life

Morrell married Jen Van Ballegooyen, a fellow Sioux Falls graduate, in 2001. They have two daughters.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Washington profile

Fresno State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Chuck Year of birth missing (living people) 1970s births Living people American football defensive backs Fresno State Bulldogs football coaches Montana Tech Orediggers athletic directors Montana Tech Orediggers football coaches South Dakota Coyotes football coaches Sioux Falls Cougars football coaches Sioux Falls Cougars football players Washington Huskies football coaches People from Tyndall, South Dakota Coaches of American football from South Dakota Players of American football from South Dakota