Feb. 9, 2001
Tim Billings, head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University, has elevated assistant coach Kip Shaw to a position as assistant head coach and has named defensive secondary coach Shannon Morrison as defensive coordinator.
Morrison will replace Mike Phillips who resigned to pursue other opportunities in Texas.
Shaw, who worked two years with Billings at Marshall, will handle football administrative duties in addition to coaching the offensive backs.
"Coach Shaw runs the show for me," Billings said. "He is an excellent administrator who has a great understanding of the plans we have for Southeast football. We've worked together now for three years and so I know him and he knows me. Coach Shaw is a very capable young man."
Morrison moves up to defensive coordinator after coaching the defensive backs last season. He is a former defensive coordinator at Hampden-Sydney and also has coaching experience at Marshall and Sam Houston State.
"I'm really excited about Morrison taking over the defense," Billings said. "I recruited him to play at Marshall and coached him for four years. I also worked with him when he was a graduate assistant at Marshall and he did a great job for us here at Southeast last season.
"Coach Morrison knows my defensive system and how we want to play defense at Southeast. He has the experience of having already been a coordinator at the division II level and he is ready for the challenge at Southeast."
In one other coaching move, Billings has elevated part-time assistant Tony Joe White to a full time assistant's position as coordinator of special teams. White, a former collegiate quarterback at East Texas State, worked with the Southeast special teams and tight ends last season after serving the prior two seasons as an assistant at Southwest Baptist.
"Coach White came with us as a part-time assistant last season and did an outstanding job with our special teams," Billings said. "We moved from the bottom of the OVC to the top of the league in special teams and I give Coach White a lot of the credit. He certainly deserves the move up to a full time position."
Southeast will begin spring drills on March 31 with the spring game at Houck Stadium scheduled for April 28.
