COLUMBUS – For Benjamin “Chris” Morgan, becoming the next head football coach at Columbus High School is a true homecoming.
Morgan grew up in Columbus and graduated from the school in 2009 before venturing on to college at Southern Miss for a bachelor’s degree in sports coaching and then a master’s degree in sports administration at Arkansas State. From there, he hopped straight into the high-school coaching ranks as a defensive backs coach at St. Helena College and Career Academy in Greensburg, La. That path took Morgan to two more schools in Louisiana during his 13-year career, and now he gets the rare opportunity to come back home and lead the program he grew up playing in.
“(I’m) excited and nervous at the same time,” Morgan said. “A little antsy about everything. I’ve been praying about it. One of my goals for the longest was to come home and give back to the community. (I’ve) been gone from Mississippi since 2013, I’ve been helping out in communities and kids out here in Louisiana, but there’s nothing like helping the ones back home.”
In Louisiana, Morgan stayed on the path of coaching defense and moved up to be the defensive coordinator at East St. John then later moved on to coach at Woodlawn in Baton Rouge for three years. Morgan joins the Falcons after another coaching stint at East St. John. He left Woodlawn to return to East St. John to help “build it back up,” and is ready to try and do the same back home.
“I think I can bring some excitement to (Columbus) and make those guys excited about football again,” he said. “One thing that I’ve had players and parents and fellow co-workers tell me what they know about guys that I work with on defense, they can tell (the players) enjoy playing for me; they can tell they love the game. So, I can bring that excitement and also that discipline as well. I didn’t have too many issues with defensive guys getting in trouble, I was always on them. They’ll tell you that Coach Morgan is a little crazy at times, because if I find out you disrespected a teacher or anything the whole defense is about to pay. I don’t care if you are a starter or a ninth-grader who is never going to see varsity reps.”
Columbus has struggled to put together winning seasons in recent history with its last time finishing at .500 was 2016 (6-6). Last season, under former head coach Barrin Simpson, the Falcons finished 1-9. Morgan said he is not new to helping turn around struggling programs, and brings a new and fresh winning attitude to the purple and gold.
“All I know is rebuilding,” he said. “So this is a great opportunity for me, a great opportunity for me – the (boys) basketball team is rolling, we might as well get all the other sports rolling as well. Columbus is a powerhouse all around.”
Morgan said he will take a more administrative role as head coach and will hire someone else to be the defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator, though he will be giving his input on both play calls, especially on defense.
“I don’t want to let go of the coaching aspect of this craft because I still love that,” he said. “I still love getting out there and doing a couple of drills, even though I may have to soak a little bit after practice, I still love that part of it. … Mississippi football is a little different than Louisiana. In Louisiana, you have a lot more speed and athletes around so you see various offenses week to week. In Mississippi, you have a lot of schools that are old school that run the ball out of various formations, tight end sets, hips and all that. So, we want to be able to do the same thing; play a physical brand of football offensively and defensively and special teams as well.”
Another great part of coming back home for Morgan is the chance to reunite with a close cousin he hasn’t seen in a while who also happens to work at Columbus – boys basketball head coach Phillip Morris.
“In high school and college we kind of had our own little group and we just always stayed close,” Morgan said. “… We were close and he’s helped me out a lot during this process and gave me insights on how the district looks, how the kids are doing around the school and stuff. So, it’s a blessing to have him not only as a cousin but as a co-worker as well.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
