FINAL - Buddy Morris: From Nothing to Something

    Buddy Morris was born in 1956. He came from a Western Pennsylvania suburb named South Park. Buddy was one of five Morris brothers. His father left the family at a young age and left his mother alone to raise five boys. Although times were rough, Buddy found a way to see the light through sports in order to make something of himself.

Buddy was a star track and field athlete at the University of Pittsburgh until 1980, in which he was hired to become the head strength and conditioning coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers. He was one of the first ever strength and conditioning coaches hired, especially being at a big university such as Pitt. Buddy stayed there until 1990, when his daughter Claire had to have a liver transplant. Buddy then worked at a sports medicine clinic in a hospital until 1997, when NFL hall of fame quarterback Dan Marino had called Buddy to see if he'd return to Pitt. Buddy's second stint at Pitt was from 1997-2001. Buddy's career was just beginning at this point and he would later return to PITT again for a third stint.

      In 2001, Buddy got a call from the Cleveland Browns, and was asked if he'd join their team to be the head strength and conditioning coach. This was Buddy's first job in the NFL. Buddy worked for them until the end of the 2004 season. During the 2004-2005 season, Buddy was unemployed. In 2006, Buddy joined the University of Buffalo, which ranked 119 out of 119 in terms of D1 football schools. So Buddy went from the NFL to the very last eligible D1 college football school. After the season, former Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt called Buddy and asked him to return for his third stint. Buddy turned down jobs from both the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers just so his daughter could get free tuition from Pitt because she was attending PITT's nursing school. 

    After just one season at Pitt, Wannstedt was fired as Pitt's coach which left Buddy jobless. He sat around for a year and then the year after he opened a performance center gym in the Buffalo area which did not go as planned. Finally on March 4, 2014 Buddy got the call from former Steelers' offensive coordinator and good friend Bruce Arians to take the head strength and conditioning job with the Arizona Cardinals. Buddy is in the process of completing his first season with the team and they currently lead the NFC West division in the NFL.

      Today, Buddy is considered one of the most highly regarded experts in the industry. Buddy Morris went from nothing to something. Being one of five brothers to basically a single mom and managing to make something great out of his life was not an easy thing to do. Buddy Morris has taught himself most of the things he knows today and his workouts are pretty much self-made, just like himself. In the end it just goes to show that even when you have nothing, you can still make something out of it. Buddy has battled adversity in a variety of ways. Whether it was growing up without a father figure in life, to getting fired from a job, Buddy has handled being resilient very well.