Kevin Morris is a former Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1971 and 1976 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1977 until 1981 for the Collingwood Football Club.
He commenced his coaching career as Captain/Coach of Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Werribee in 1982 then went back to the VFL as Captain/Coach of the Essendon reserve side from 1983 to 1985, winning the premiership in his first season.
After retiring from playing, Morris was appointed coach of West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 1988 and remained in Adelaide until 1991. In his four years with The Bloods Morris took them to 8th in '88, 7th in '89 and 6th in '90 before leading the club to the 1991 SANFL Grand Final where they lost to North Adelaide 21.22 (146) to 11.7 (73) in the most spiteful SANFL Grand Final in the modern era with at least 4 all-in brawls marring what was a class effort by The Roosters over a West Adelaide team that had won 12 of its previous 14 games. In Morris's West Adelaide team in 1991 were then Adelaide Crows AFL players Mark Mickan, Bruce Lindner, Paul Patterson and Shaun Rehn (who missed the final series through injury) as well as future AFL star Full-forward Tony Modra along with former VFL players Darren Carlson, Peter Banfield, Matthew Simpson and Michael Kennedy.
In the weeks after The Bloods Grand Final loss, Morris was controversially sacked as Bloods coach and in 1992 he returned to Essendon, firstly in recruiting then as an assistant-coach. He coached the Richmond Reserves side in 1995 then was an assistant-coach in 1996. Most recently he worked as an assistant-coach at St Kilda.
Kevin Morris's son Steven is currently playing for Richmond, having been recruited under the AFL's Father-Son Rule from West Adelaide where he won the clubs Best & Fairest in 2011.
Famous quotes containing the words kevin and/or morris:
“Well, on the official record you’re my son. But on this post you’re just another trooper. You heard me tell the recruits what I need from them. Twice that I will expect from you.... You’ve chosen my way of life. I hope you have the guts enough to endure it. But put outa your mind any romantic ideas that it’s a way to glory. It’s a life of suffering and of hardship and uncompromising devotion to your oath and your duty.”
—James Kevin McGuinness, and John Ford. Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (John Wayne)
“The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.”
—Desmond Morris (b. 1928)