The only team to interview Bill Belichick this month, the Falcons are heading in a different direction. The team is closing in on hiring Raheem Morris as its next head coach, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports the Falcons plan to make the hire.
This comes after CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported the Rams’ defensive coordinator impressed during his second interview this week. Morris had a Seahawks interview scheduled; this Falcons hire will nix that. Morris spent six seasons in Atlanta prior to moving to Los Angeles, finishing that Falcons tenure as interim HC replacing Dan Quinn. The Rams will pick up third-round picks in 2024 and 2025 for seeing a minority assistant hired as a head coach.
[RELATED: Latest On Falcons’ Leadership Structure]
While Belichick overshadowed this search, the Falcons conducted a wide-ranging process to replace Arthur Smith. The team met with Mike Vrabel on Wednesday and conducted second interviews with Panthers DC Ejiro Evero and Texans OC Bobby Slowik. The Falcons also met with Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Anthony Weaver and Mike Macdonald virtually, but due to the Lions and Ravens staffers being tied to teams in the conference championship round, Atlanta could not meet in-person with those candidates this week. The NFC South franchise will move forward with Morris.
The Belichick piece is obviously significant here, as this represented the longtime Patriots leader’s most likely landing spot, but this also provides a true second chance for Morris. Now 47, Morris was hired as Buccaneers HC back in 2009 at just 32. Morris lasted three years as Tampa Bay’s HC but did not prove ready for the job. (Although the 2010 Bucs won 10 games, Morris went 17-31 in Tampa.) After leaving the Falcons on good terms for L.A. in 2021, Morris collected a Super Bowl ring. Sean McVay and Rams brass offered endless praise for Morris, who will become the latest in a line of Rams staffers to land promotions elsewhere.
Another Rams piece lingers here, too. Zac Robinson, McVay’s QBs coach, has emerged as a lead candidate to follow Morris and become the Falcons’ next OC, Jones reports. This would be interesting due to the volume of interview requests in Robinson’s inbox. Robinson has interviewed with the Patriots, Saints and Bears and received requests to meet with the Steelers and Raiders. After the Bengals took Dan Pitcher off the board Wednesday, Robinson following Morris to Georgia would further deplete the OC candidate pool.
Arthur Blank targeted Belichick early, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, but some internal persuasion looks to have swayed the owner. While Belichick’s accomplishments lap every other candidate in this year’s cycle, Morris also checks the experience box Blank sought — now becoming the first retread HC hire in the owner’s 22-year run — due to his Tampa Bay tenure and 2020 stay as the Atlanta interim boss. SI.com’s Albert Breer indicated this week the non-Blank sect of Falcons brass may not have been as interested in Belichick, and it is worth wondering if the prospect of the six-time Super Bowl champion HC shaking up Atlanta’s power structure played a role in the organization passing.
Belichick, 71, is five years older than anyone ever hired to be a full-time NFL head coach. The Bucs’ 2019 Bruce Arians hire still leads the way here, and this offseason would represent one of the most interesting carousels in league history if it leaves Belichick without a chair. Reports last week pegged Belichick — the first coach to meet with the Falcons twice — as the clear favorite, to the point he had the right of first refusal and was in a way interviewing the Falcons about a fit. As the days passed since Belichick’s Atlanta meeting, it started to look like Belichick was losing ground. The Falcons ended up meeting with 14 candidates.
Throughout Belichick’s Patriots tenure, he held personnel power. The Falcons had Blank and CEO Rich McKay running this search, but the team still has GM Terry Fontenot in place. Fontenot arrived as Morris exited in 2021; the two are now set to work together. The prospect of Belichick ultimately answering to McKay could have also been a red flag for the legendary HC, and Fontenot’s role would likely have been impacted by a Belichick hire. The Falcons also passing on Belichick bringing back a host of ex-Patriot staffers, including the likes of Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, also could have served as a dealbreaker for the team.
After Morris and Dave Canales (Panthers) agreed to terms in the NFC South today, only two teams — the Commanders and Seahawks — are looking for HCs. Neither have met with Belichick, and neither is believed to be interested. Rumblings about teams with HC vacancies being open to Belichick have surfaced, but unless a team were to fire its coach and create a late vacancy, it is looking like the 2024 season will be the first without Belichick in a head coaching role since 1999.
Belichick has been either a head coach or an assistant in the NFL each year since 1975. Beginning with his native Baltimore Colts, Belichick initially landed on the HC radar after winning two Super Bowls as Giants defensive coordinator. A Browns partnership in the early ’90s did not produce consistent success, but after Belichick teamed again with Bill Parcells with the Patriots and Jets later in the decade, Robert Kraft brought him back as head coach. That union (with a heavy assist from Tom Brady) produced one of the great HC runs in sports history, but the Pats have moved on after a 4-13 season, hiring heir apparent Jerod Mayo.
Will Belichick — 14 wins shy of Don Shula‘s all-time record — be willing to take an assistant job somewhere to continue his career? Belichick made a public comment indicating a willingness to relinquish authority in New England, but it worth wondering if other teams were leery about giving him the keys after recent struggles on the GM front in Foxborough. This Morris hire represents good news for Fontenot, who was tasked with a rebuild upon being hired in 2021. He appears set to continue that work with a second head coach.
The Falcons gave Morris the interim job in October 2020; he went 4-7 in that span, finishing off a 4-12 season for the team. Atlanta has since finished 7-10 in each of the past three seasons, with ugly late-season losses ending Smith’s run. In Morris, the Falcons have a familiar face who was part of Quinn’s Super Bowl LI staff. Morris also showed versatility during his first Atlanta stint, being the rare coach to work on both sides of the ball for the same franchise. The Falcons employed Morris as their wide receivers coach from 2016-19, shifting him to defensive coordinator in 2020.
Morris replaced Brandon Staley as Rams DC and served as the top defensive voice in the building for a Super Bowl champion. Riding an Aaron Donald–Von Miller–Jalen Ramsey veteran nucleus, Morris helped that defense crest at the right time. That said, the Rams ranked first in scoring and total defense under Staley in 2020; they never placed higher than 15th in either category under Morris. But the latter also displayed his coaching acumen this year, seeing several Super Bowl pieces stripped from the roster. The Rams still found their way back to the playoffs, with third-rounders Kobie Turner and Byron Young providing vital Donald support during what was initially labeled a rebuilding season.
It is still interesting the Falcons hired a Quinn staffer to be their next HC, and the Morris move also marks new territory in modern NFL history. Although 12 teams have elevated interim HCs to the full-time post in the 21st century, this is the only post-2000 occurrence of a team bringing back its interim leader after he subsequently coached elsewhere.
Morris will be tasked with leading a team Fontenot has indeed upgraded but one that appears in need at quarterback. The Falcons are expected to pursue an upgrade on Desmond Ridder, and Morris will be expected to use his defensive background to enhance that unit’s capabilities as well. The Falcons have not made the playoffs since 2017; they will bet on Morris over Belichick to become a better long-term leader.
Fall from grace for Bill. Guess others also see his 20+ game sunder .500 w/o Tom besides myself.
well I think he prob went in there like, I want full control of the roster and staff and a hefty paycheck
and they were like ehhh , we’ll just go with the DEI hire this time
Raheem The Dream Morris
I hope I ‘eat crow’ down the road….but this feels like the most retread of retread coaching hires they could’ve done, ugh. Just as much an uninspiring hiring when Arthur Smith was hired smh
I still don’t have a comment on the hire. Still in a state of shock by the hire lol.
Lol…Only thing I can say is the Falcons super bowl year they had an all-time coaching staff. Blank must’ve finally asked ‘who’s the last coach from that staff that’s not a head coach yet? Raheem? Alright let’s get him!’…gotta be it haha
You say that jokingly, but his prior interim run has got to be the deciding factor here. I also did not see this coming, though I also was wary of the Belichick certainty. The advantage for Morris is that the division is pretty wide open right now. Of course, the Rams will also be happy with their compensation for his hire.
Wasn’t Raheem 4-7 during his Falcons interim coaching stint? Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
I meant more in a familiarity sense than anything. That doesn’t have to be a good or bad thing by default, but it would help comfortability for both parties.
Morris is a good coach. Don’t be a Debbie downer
In conclusion – the “best coach ever” is having trouble finding a team with interest.
Wait! No one wants an over the hill coach that is out of touch with today’s Nfl?
I think it’s more likely that Belichick is being choosy and/or has demands (like FO input or salary) that aren’t being met. He doesn’t have many more opportunities left, though. Maybe he sits out a year.
Unless some team fires their HC surprisingly late in the cycle, I think it’s a guarantee Belichick doesn’t coach this coming season. Washington seems like they’re going to hire Johnson, and I can’t imagine Seattle having any interest in replacing Carroll with Belichick. I’d even go so far as to say if he doesn’t coach this upcoming season, Belichick is done. A year off for a 70+ year old HC, with exorbitant demands and some very questionable decision making the past few years isn’t going to help his candidacy for future openings. This feels like he may be overplaying his hand.
For heck’s sake – what a mischaracterisation. More like grumpy 71-year old cannot agree on terms for his new post.
Belichick’s achievements don’t outweigh his current age and facilities. As great as he has been, starting over is a big ask.
You think so?
There were many openings and he only interviewed for one. Word was, he was willing to take a lesser role with NE.
I know many lower level coaches get fired, and get other chances in a year or two. But this guy gets all the praise for being a genius, the best ever, yada yada yada…unemployed.
You say he doesn’t want to start over – I say that opportunity doesn’t exist for him. The best teams moved on. He got a second interview with ATL, I think they probably knew what his demands were before scheduling it.
I don’t think its too far to say the market was down from what you might’ve expected for the “best ever.”
Chargers? They were probably the best job available – even sharing a division with KC. Not a sniff.
I theorize that owners might have interest – but fan reaction isn’t supportive. I really think the narrative changed, at least with fans.
If the Bills fired Sean and hired Bill – it would probably kill my lifelong love of the team. Hiring him means you accept the cheating and are betting heavily that success was not all Brady.
I will admit – any experienced coach that is demand can afford to wait on a good job. That makes sense. Philly. Dallas next year? IDK But initial interest seems way down.
The issue is not Bill Belichick or his record, the issue is his age.
He wants to coach.
Im not sure its due to age, but I guess we will never know.
The man is 72, how can you be unsure if the decline in his physical energy and coaching ability is related to his age or not?
You anti-Belichick people seem to have your own version of TDS. Get help, try not to read articles about the Pro Football Hall of Fame where the Patriots and Belichick will inevitably be mentioned. Make sure not to follow any AFC East teams where the Patriots name will come up frequently, with comparisons to the Brady-Belichick years.
Yes. I should seek help.
Good advice Alex! I appreciate that little shot. Im way to open minded.
And you seem to miss the entire point. But thats okay. The age thing is a convenient pivot point that cant be disproven. But he hasn’t changed. He never was energetic was he?
The BRADY – Belichek years. In your words.
This is misdirection. I suspect you know this
He wanted to stay in NE with less control. Nope.
The best ever doesn’t seem to have a hot market. Thats the facts sir. You don’t have to like it.
And even if he wanted total control – who would give it to him? Look at if his mountain if accomplishments without Brady. Is that mountain bigger than his GM failures?
Neither pile bigger than cheating scandals.
Its ok to have a different opinions Alec, but you gotta be open to a different set of perspectives.
The fact that this is even a question among fans – not just AFC East fans says alot doesn’t it?
I’m sorry Bill Belichick ruined your life, Bills.
Excellent response. Love misdirection! You don’t have to dispute ideas. Simple and effective.
Just take a passive aggressive parting shot. You get to feel good pushing sending attempt to avoid the possibility of being wrong.
Brilliant!
.
Have a great day Alec.
Brandon Staley back to la?
National Sports Media, New York Sports Media, and White Male Sports Media will all be in mourning when Morris’ hiring is official.
Poor take
ChuckyNJ pulls the reverse racism card on a lot of articles….somehow it always applies in his head
What a dumb take! Yeah, it’s time for the race card to be pulled! What an absolutely ridiculous comment!
Someone’s pathetic world view is in need of validation eh? Typical democrat, can’t handle that his narrative is based on lies. Yeah white football fans super racist, watching black people play sports. Yeah, all signs point to racism! Go back to the plantation.
Most every writer drooling over Belichick is white and male. That’s cos they approve of an M.O. that goes “the ends justify the means”.
Trump
You clearly want to troll for responses to weed out the racist fans of the NFL.
If Tomlin had been let go by the Steelers and was a FA every writer would be talking about him for every job too. He’s not as successful as Bill but he’s pretty close in regards to getting the most out of his players. So your BS is just that. All I see in the media these days and I refer to ESPN. NFL Network. FOX sports. It’s majority Black commentators. So again more BS from a race instigator whose name is Chucky? Like Chuck D ? Good one.
Tomlin is a whole lot younger, sixteen years younger. Totally different conversation. Apples and oranges.
I don’t think you understand what the convo was about to begin with. He’s talking about race as a factor as to why Bill is being talked about over and over for other coaching jobs. As if that’s the reason he is being talked about. When if it was Tomlin who was out there as a free agent coach he would be the one talked about constantly as a replacement at just about every available job.
Age was not what was being discussed at all. That was not the original conversation. Bill is the biggest name out there so he’s being talked about a lot. So would Tomlin if he was out there.
Et tu, BB?
So BB is sabotaging himself?
BB was in a conspiracy to not get hired?
And if nothing else I don’t want to hear any more crying about the lack of black HC’s. Ryans, Morris, Mayo, Bowles, Pierce, Tomlinson, McDaniels (Dolphins), and I may be forgetting someone.
Does McDaniels really count, though? He looks adopted to me. 😉
“I’m glad you asked that. First and foremost, I’m biracial and my mom’s white and my dad’s black and I’ve been that way my whole life, but the most important thing is that I’ve been extremely proud of that my whole life,” McDaniel said.
Yep, he counts.
I mean, he’s black, and he’s hilarious, and he’s a very good coach, so he counts.
link to pro-football-reference.com
Yeah, clearly institutional racism has been solved /s
Or, and read this next part slowly, never existed in the first place.
You do know the 4 only permanent black coaches made it into the playoffs this year.
Last year Bowles and McDaniels made it while Tomlin still had a winning record.
The minority coaches tend to have a good track record…
Why are you judging coaches based on the color of their skin? Globally white people are a minority… or are we only counting people within the US as people?
Institutional racism? Made up nonsense by people with a motive. There is no institutional racism. We live in a meritocracy.
The only institutional racism is within sports, who prefer black athletes to all other races.
Nice dream world you live in.
This is terrible
It is lol
Doesn’t seem like a great hire. But we will see. Raheem the dream Morris!!
At least Atlanta has a cool stadium
Great hire. Experienced on both sides of the ball. Had a taste of the head coach life too young, then worked with Shanahan and McVay. Ran a great defense with star talent. Ran a good defense with a bunch of mid round kids. One of the best candidates out there.
As the names keep falling off the board starting to look like Seahawks going with Dan Quinn.im not sure that is a good thing.
Vrabel
Could be
I kind of expect Vrabel, but Quinn wouldn’t shock me. I’d say that he seems the next most likely after Vrabel. I don’t know how much of what the Seahawks want is dependent on yielding to a recently empowered John Schneider, or whatever arrangement they have with Carroll.
I would say right now 50-50 Vrabel or Quinn. If they were decided on Quinn 100 percent I think it would be done now. His history with team. There doesn’t seem to much of a plan with Pete. He did want to stay one more year. John Schneideris calling the shots right now. It’s his team.
True. Quinn’s got familiarity going for him. If Carroll is a “consultant” who’s actually a partial coach, Quinn seems like the move. Vrabel probably wants a lot of say. I agree, though, that Quinn would have likely been hired by now if he were a slam dunk. Vrabel seems to fit, but the opposite side of this to what I originally felt is that he’d be a headstrong coach. If that’s not what Seattle wants, it could explain why he didn’t get the job yet. Vrabel getting hired would indicate that Carroll’s ouster was more about his individual style or age than it was about simply having a controlling head coach, in my mind.
Very good points
Sam Robinson wrote an article about Raheem Morris being hired by the Falcons, and then proceeds to mention Bill Belichick twice as much in the same article….Dang that’s rough! Lol sheesh
White Male Sports Media angry that the man who used to coach the Cheatriots is correctly being shunned.
Watch this everyone…..’Trump’ !
White male sports media? I’m sorry have you not seen ESPN lately? Virtually every sports talk guy is black…
Or he is just 71 and old…
And you have a serious issue with the Patriots, which is hilarious that you used “Cheatriots” in 2024. Maybe move on? Might be healthy.
#Savage
I wanted a young hotshot OC to get the job. Just so don’t find another good one and lose them to a HC job in 3 years.
Seriously??? Maybe its time for Mr. Blank to sell the team. How can he or anyone justify hiting a retread who was 4-7 with the team before. Here is to another 3 yrs of being below 500 and missing the playoffs.
Those who scream “sell the team” are those who breathe through their mouth. Morris was interim coach in 2020 when NFL games had few if any spectators due to the pandemic. Not only that, Atlanta got to Week 18 this season with a legit chance to poach the NFC South.
What does fan attendance have to do with team performance? And what does the falcons success this year have to do with a coach from the rams?
Wah wah wah everyone is racist wah wah wah
Grow up and join us in the real world.
Ah yes, because that’s his whole resume.
Yes lets look at his resume. He has a losing record…ur next point???
His limited time as head coach isn’t nearly the whole of what he’s done.
Some people are made to be head coaches…others are made to be coordinators. Morris is a coordinator NOT A HEAD COACH. His record speaks for itself.
What, when he took over midseason? Putting your conclusion in all caps doesn’t make it any more correct. Most of is time even spent as a coordinator has been since his last interim head coach job.
Not only was he sub 500 in his mod season take over of the falcons he was well under 500 in 3 seasons with the bucs. Dude is not a head coach. You can honestly tell me he is kore qualified then say Vrabel? If youre tellin me that after what interviewing 14 people this is the best option? A dude who was what 17-31?? In 2 chances at being a head coach what does it say about the rest of the Candidates??
Counting interim record is silly. He was too green his first time around. Since then he’s worked on both sides of the ball and done great work as a coordinator while drawing raves. Vrabel is also a great candidate, but he’s not going to be the best fit with everyone. Besides, wherever Vrabel goes, I’m guessing his OC will be Arthur Smith.
So you cant judge being an interm HC. Ok sonwhat about his miserable record as the Bucs HC? Im sorry but he has had two chances at leading a team and failed miserably both times. Again some people are good coordinators and thats all they are good at. Take Josh McDaniel for example. Very good OC crappy head coach. Same as Morris.
I saw the Rams qb coach will be the new OC. So not only do we hire a HC with a less then steller record we are brining in a guy whos never been an OC….what could possibly go wrong?
He was very young the first time he was a head coach and had never been a coordinator. He’s done stellar work the last couple of years, including coordinating the defense of a super bowl winner. You can stay committed to disliking this hire. I thought he was one of the five best candidates out there this cycle. It’s not like there are many good candidates with more than one year of OC experience this cycle.
Retread or not, the important thing here is if he can figure out how to unlock the potential of three 1st round, top-10 offensive skill position players. The defense seems somewhat passable, for now at least, but he has to get his #4 overall TE; his #8 overall WR; and his #8 overall RB to produce up to the potential they were each drafted at.
I think the OC hire here will be extremely crucial. I can see this situation mimicking Houston’s where a defensive-minded HC took over but hired a fairly competent OC to make the O go.
Good luck with that. Hope you enjoy 7-9 for the next three years.
It’s been fine being 7-10 for the last 3.
Hmmmm…..his first go round as HC in Tampa Bay didn’t go well. 3 and 13, 4 and 12, sandwiching a 10-6-1.
Terrible decision to hire this guy…he will coach to a .400 percent win loss record
This is the kind of big splashy hire you make if you’re objective is to convince 2 or 3 people in the state to support the Falcons rather than the Georgia Bulldogs.
You constantly reference GA fans all needing to be lumped into one group regarding success or failures. Falcons vs. Braves vs. Bulldogs, etc. as if they are all ran the same Smh….trust me, us dumb southerners can differentiate each team from one another as hard as they may be to believe.
No offense intended. My point is that in any competitive sports market an owner is not only competing against the other teams in his league but against other products being offered to fans. As you correctly pointed out, fans can differentiate where the value is when it comes to spending their discretionary sports allowance.
Typical of the Dumb Sports Fan who thinks one sport equals another. Go anywhere other than Murica and you’ll quickly find each sport stays in its own silo.
Do the pats get those picks also for hiring Mayo or no because he’s already on the payroll
They do not get picks since he was employed by the team already.
I think this is a terrible hire but it’s clearly plain to see these new age owners and team GMs don’t want Bill B. Personally other than the Cowboys or Chargers I don’t think he was a good fit. I’d have took Harbaugh over him too
When NFL clubs look for a head coach they ask “what have you done lately?” Belichick has achieved squat since Brady left Foxboro — the 2023 season cemented that legacy.
It’s time for Bill to ride off into yhe sunset. Times have changed and at 73 teams gonna be hesitant on a long term hire.
Absolutely, Hawktattoo. Belichick is too old to start again in a new city, building a new staff, and building a new team. It might work, but it just as easily could turn into Belichick walking out in mid-season, dropping dead from a stroke, or losing lots of games.
Belichick’s best use would be to attract media to a moribund city whose NFL team gets no coverage. Carolina fit the bill. Perhaps the Chargers. But those landing spots are gone.
BB should just retire. Every dog has his day. BB has had six of them and nine appearances.
I feel same way about Pete C. We love him in Seattle but would be hard with age to start all over again.
It’ll be interesting to see information on his contract. I’ve no faith in this being a playoff bound team in the next 3-4 years, .500 at best.
The NFC South teams refusing to improve.
Why are the OC and DC of the Ravens not getting more interviews? Those guys should be prime candidates for these teams. Maybe Washington and Seattle are waiting until after the AFCC. Anyone have any theories
Monken’s personality isn’t going to be for everyone, and he’s been around long enough that he doesn’t have that shiny new toy quality. He does deserve looks, though. MacDonald is a star. He’ll be a head coach in the next two years, I bet.
The problem with Belichick is he doesn’t know anything other than 24 years of…Belichick.
…there’s no Tom Brady…
…You hired who for an OC a year ago…
…You want what?
…We’ll see Bill (yeah, later, love ya)
…I said this in my last PFR post – he’s done. like, DONE. He might get his ‘games’ if lucky but Bill is not going to heist a trophy any sooner than the bowl cut from Las Vegas.