The leading candidate for the Atlanta Falcons Head Coach vacancy was longtime Patriots coach and president of operations, Bill Belichick. After interviewing Belichick twice, the Falcons decided to shock everyone and go with a different candidate in Raheem Morris, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“This is a historic day for the Atlanta Falcons,” Owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome Raheem Morris back to Atlanta as the team’s new head coach. … Raheem emerged from a field of excellent candidates and is the right leader to take our team into the future.”
As we start to near the end of the coaching cycle, only two vacancies remain: Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks. It’s clear that time and power are what could be keeping Belichick away. In today’s world, not many teams want to hire a coach who will only be around for a short amount of time. At 71 years old, it’s unclear how long Belichick plans to be a coach. As a former President of Football Operations, Belichick also wants to have some power.
Raheem Morris, on the other hand, is just 47 years old. If everything goes smoothly he could be the Falcons’ head coach for longer than Belichick. This will be his second time as the Falcons head coach, briefly leading them to a 4-7 record in 2020 as the interim HC. Before that, he had served on the staff under Dan Quinn. Morris has a lengthy record working several roles, but a few of the important ones include his time with the Falcons, Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams. He won two Super Bowls combined as an assistant coach with the previous two teams (one with each).
Morris beat out a total of 14 candidates including his former colleague Bobby Slowik. The new Falcons head coach will inherit some building blocks on both sides of the ball. As a defensive-minded coach he’ll be ecstatic to have second-team All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III, cornerback A.J. Terrell and defensive lineman Grady Jarrett. Though, he has playmakers on the offensive side as well with tight end Kyle Pitts, receiver Drake London, running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier and two offensive linemen who were there during his last stint with Atlanta — left tackle Jake Matthews and right guard Chris Lindstrom.
“I’m beyond excited to work side-by-side with Raheem in bringing a championship to Atlanta,” General Manager Terry Fontenot said. “We have conducted one of the most thorough and comprehensive searches and saw many incredible candidates through this process. Raheem is the right fit for our team, culture, and shared vision for success in Atlanta, and I cannot wait to start working with him and have his energy in our building.”
The first task that Fontenot and Morris will have together will be finding a quarterback who matches the playstyle of Morris and his OC.
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