Has there ever been a head coaching hire met with more praise than the Falcons hiring of Raheem Morris?
Those who have coached with him or been coached by him all had the same thing to say about Morris — about damn time. Whether it was praising his leadership, football knowledge or ability to connect to players, everyone had similar sentiments.
Here are some quotes from Josh Kendall of The Athletic
“The first thing I would say about him is there are a lot of really good coaches scheme-wise and there’s a lot of good coaches who are connectors of people, player to coach, coach to coach. He can do both,” Dan Quinn said.
Quinn and Morris spent several seasons in Atlanta together. Morris was a wide receivers coach, defensive backs coach, defensive coordinator, and interim head coach for the Falcons.
“I can just remember guys in the locker room, including myself, gravitating toward him whether you were on defense or offense or a guy just trying to make the team. He was one of those guys that had that charisma about him,” Cadillac Williams said. “He’s a guy who can lead men in the right direction, and you get that feel. My time with him was awesome.”
Morris didn’t even directly coach Williams, who was the fifth pick of the draft in 2005 when Morris was the assistant defensive backs coach. That speaks volumes to the impact he had on his former players.
“He’s one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever played for. He’s a great coach overall, great communicator, knows how to get the best out of his players,” said Mohamed Sanu. “He’s able to connect with everybody in their own unique way. He has his own connections with each and every person and makes everyone feel important.”
Being able to squeeze all of the talent out of a roster is a consistent theme of successful coaches in the NFL, and it’s a constant attribute the Falcons’ new head coach receives.
Rams president Kevin Demoff called Morris “one of the best leaders and culture builders I’ve ever been around,” on a podcast. “This is the guy who makes your building better,” Demoff said. “He’s the glue guy who brings your building together, and the guy can coach.”
It’s not just his friends in the industry, though. One of the most respected names in media called Morris the “definition of a leader of men.”
“Raheem Morris is in the top five of people I have ever covered who players A) love to play for and B) respond to,” said Peter King.
One of his most outspoken advocates is a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Jalen Ramsey.
“Rah is fire, for real,” Ramsey said. “The fact that he’s not a head coach is a blessing to us in that defensive room. Rah is the real (expletive) deal, I am not even lying to you. I am passionate about that (expletive).”
From his time in Atlanta, Morris made quite the impression on Kyle Shanahan.
“The fact that he was on defense and could come be our wide receivers coach and do so good was unbelievable. I knew he was a defensive coach, but you couldn’t tell being in the (wide receivers) room,” he said. “It seemed like it was seamless. He was able to break down information for us from a defensive perspective. He was able to help us attack the defensive backs better.”
I quite literally have never seen a head coaching hire in the NFL met with universal praise like this one. The Falcons seem to have got a good one in Raheem Morris.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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