The Falcons’ hire of Raheem Morris has been met with universal praise.
Whether that’s from former players or coaches, everyone rejoiced in the news that Morris would be returning to Atlanta. I’ve actually never seen anything like it. Generally, there are a couple of contrarians who will find the bad in even the best hires, not Morris.
The Falcons seemingly got the guy that everyone wants to play for and coach with. Now, that may not translate to the win and loss columns, but NFL execs and coaches around the league believe it was the second-best hire of the cycle.
The Athletic asked seven people — “four high-ranking team executives and three coaches” — to rank their top three head coaching hires, and Morris came in second, behind Jim Harbaugh.
Raheem Morris, who easily came in second place on the ballot, has a sterling reputation around the league, and it became fairly obvious in recent years he’d get another head coaching opportunity. He’s a respected leader, relates well to all corners of the building and has a proven defensive approach.
Both of Morris’ first-place votes came from coaches, and he appeared on five of the seven ballots, which shows the way he is viewed by his peers. Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has been advocating for Morris to get another opportunity for a while, and it was also telling that Zac Robinson followed Morris to the Atlanta Falcons even though he was the hottest offensive coordinator candidate during the hiring cycle. Simply put, people want to work with Morris.
Morris was heralded for his ability to build an All-Star staff, and he immediately leveraged his past relationships when filling out his first staff, bringing Zac Robinson and Jimmy Lake with him to Atlanta.
Though the jury is still out on both coordinators, the expectation is both will work out. If they do, they’ll eventually move on to bigger and better jobs. The Falcons hope is Raheem Morris will be able to continue to hire the right coordinators, given his role as a CEO-type head coach.
Fans are happy with the hire right now, and there is palpable excitement in the city, but the Falcons faithful will quickly turn on Raheem Morris if the losses start piling up. There will be no grace period like there was with Arthur Smith because this roster is ready to compete.
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Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire
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