It’s natural for expectations to rise when a new coach shows up.

At Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher was welcomed to College Station with a plaque honoring a future national championship. The Aggies were mocked on the internet for their premature celebration of that achievement because after all, Fisher hasn’t even coached a game yet.

The same is true of Chad Morris at Arkansas. But nobody is making future national championship plaques for Morris after he took over a 4-win team. Instead, there’s an object that’s a bit more suited for Arkansas’ current state.

Only a picture would do it justice:

Yes, that’s Morris as a saint on an 8-inch unscented candle. That’s a product that’s being sold for $15 at the Little Rock store “Domestic Domestic.”

I kid you not.

That was what I found out after catching up with Domestic Domestic creative director J.D. Harris. Needless to say, I had plenty of questions that needed to be answered.

For starters, what in the world inspired y’all to make a saint candle for someone who hasn’t coached a game at Arkansas yet?

“Here in Arkansas, we worship football. We love football,” Harris said. “We decided 3 months ago, listen, we need to do something special. We need to get geared up for football season. You know, new coach, new hopes. We’re just trying to bring some wins home so maybe this will help a little bit.”

If you go on the Domestic Domestic website and try to purchase the “Illuminidol Chad Morris Candle,” you’ll see a one-of-a-kind description under the product.

“Saint Chad Morris featured on Illuminidol’s Texas-made 8” prayer candle. The most divine way to bless any Chad disciple!”

I needed some clarification on that. Is it fair to say that it’s being marketed as a prayer candle?

“It’s not necessarily a prayer candle,” Harris said, “but yes, yes it is.”

Credit: Domestic Domestic

“It’s not necessarily a prayer candle, but yes, yes it is.”
Domestic Domestic creative director J.D. Harris

For what it’s worth, this wasn’t necessarily an idea that was exclusive to Morris. Domestic Domestic sells all sorts of candles with celebrities as saints. You can get Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Tom Selleck, Oprah, Willie Nelson, The Golden Girls, Snoop Dogg and several others on these candles. 

They’re exclusively produced by Illuminidol, which is a national company that works with Domestic Domestic. When the idea for Morris’ candle was pitched by Domestic Domestic, it had to get some sort of reaction.

“You know, new coach, new hopes. We’re just trying to bring some wins home so maybe this will help a little bit.”
Domestic Domestic creative director J.D. Harris

“Listen, I bet they were a little shocked,” Harris said. “But they probably weren’t too shocked because they put everybody’s face on everything.”

Well, not exactly everyone.

It’s not like Morris’ predecessor, Bret Bielema, made his way on to any Illuminidol candles.

“There should’ve been, but there was not,” Harris said with a laugh.

Perhaps that’s a sign of the times in Arkansas. Morris might have injected some life into the program after a disastrous season, but he didn’t have the same national profile that Bielema did.

Domestic Domestic found that out early on. When they first put the Morris candles on their shelves a few months ago, there was some confusion from customers.

“A few people would come in and say, ‘Who is this guy?’” Harris said. “A lot of people didn’t know who it was, to be honest with you.”

Credit: Domestic Domestic

Slowly but surely, though, more people started to recognize the product. Even better, they started buying them. In the last few days, Domestic Domestic sold out its second shipment of the Morris candles and already ordered a few hundred more.

“We wanted to test the waters and the waters ran deep,” Harris said.

Word about the candles is already spreading north to Fayetteville. Harris said they had a mother who came in the story this week because her son, an Arkansas student, wanted her to pick up a Morris candle.

There’s no word if Morris knows about it. He’s obviously a bit pre-occupied with ramping up for his SEC debut. Maybe he’ll get a chance to check them out in October when Arkansas travels to Little Rock for its annual game at War Memorial Stadium.

By then, Morris will at least have coached a game. He could even have a handful of wins. But don’t worry. Wins won’t drive up the candle’s $15 price.

“If we could get (Morris) to autograph a few of them, the price might go up,” Harris said. “Who knows?”

If sales continue to grow and Morris’ first year does prove to be a success, I think we can all agree.

It’s gotta be the candles.