Hawks hire Rams DC Richard Raheem Morris to be head coach

Hawks hire Rams DC Richard Raheem Morris to be head coach

Raheem Morris was hired as Atlanta’s new coach on Thursday. He is the first former NFL head coach that owner Arthur Blank has hired in more than 20 years. In the team’s history, he is also the team’s inaugural full-time Black head coach.

“Today is a big day for the Atlanta Falcons,” Blank said in a press release. “We are thrilled to have Raheem Morris back in Atlanta as the new head coach of the team.”

There were many great candidates, but Raheem stood out as the best. He is an appropriate leader for our team to move forward.

“His time in LA has given him a better understanding of many things that have made him a better coach in all areas of the game, including people, running a team, game planning, working with a great offensive staff, and more.”

I think he is a better leader now and has a much better understanding of the things it takes to have a one-team culture where everyone works together well.

Morris was hired after a long search that included 14 candidates, such as former New England Patriots teacher Bill Belichick, former Tennessee Titans coach Michael Vrabel, and former Michigan teacher Jim Harbaugh, who was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday.

Four coaches got second chances to talk to the club, and Morris happened to be one of them. Belichick, Bobby Slowik, who is the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, and Ejiro Evero, who is the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, were the others.

In 2020, Morris was Atlanta’s head coach over 11 games after the team fired Dan Quinn in the middle of the season.

This is his return to Flowery Branch, Georgia. Morris had a 4–7 record, but he wasn’t given a full-time job. But instead, they hired Arthur Smith.

As of now, the team has hired Morris as its full-time coach. Smith quit on January 8 after three seasons with a record of 21-40.

Because Arthur Blank led this team so well, and because this whole organization trusted me to help run this team, I’m very grateful.

With this job, Morris said, “I am overjoyed for the chance for myself and my family to return for Atlanta to become the Falcons head coach.”

“We’ve seen for ourselves what a great organization Atlanta was and how much this team means to the city and its fans.”

Raheem Morris, who is currently the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, will be the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, the club announced Thursday.

The Falcons have the only team that is known that they’ve talked to Belichick, but they have decided not to hire him.

The news comes once the team interviewed Bill Belichick, a legendary New England Patriots player, twice, along with several other well-known candidates. While Morris hasn’t been the Falcons’ head coach since 2020, they are used to seeing him.

Morris, who is 47 years old, will use his many years of experience within the league. He was head coach of the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay for the first time from 2009 to 2011. In those three years, the team went 17–31.

The Buccaneers went 10-6 in 2010, which was his only winning season. Before becoming the defensive coordinator in Los Angeles in 2021, he had several other jobs in Washington and Atlanta.

As soon as Morris took over as defensive coordinator, the Rams were successful. In his first season, they won Super Bowl LVI. They also beat their chances this season by making it return to the playoffs even though they had a lot of players leave.

During the Rams’ end-of-season news conference on Saturday, general manager Les Snead gave Morris a great review, calling them a “highly intelligent person being.”

It was the second surprise hire of the day on Thursday. Just hours earlier, the Panthers hired Buccaneers offensive assistant Dave Canales to fill their head coaching opening.

Morris had been in talks about joining the Los Angeles Chargers, the Washington Commanders, the Carolina Panthers, and the Seattle Seahawks before he signed with the Falcons. Snead also said great things about the talented people Morris will be able to get.

It was said that Belichick, 71, had only been interviewing for the Falcons. He has a lot of options after leaving the Patriots, but the Seahawks or the Commanders are the only two NFL head coaching jobs left.

The Rooney Rule means that the Rams will get a third-round pick every year for the next two years. Morris is the fourth person of color to become a head coach in the NFL since 2024.