Morris Watts, longtime Michigan State OC under George Perles, dies at 88

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.

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.

Watts served as Michigan State's offensive coordinator in three stints — 1986-1990, 1992-1994 and 1999-2002 — for a collective 12 years in East Lansing. The first two stints came under George Perles, with Big Ten championships in 1987 and 1990 and four straight bowl games between them.

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.