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Raheem Morris, Falcons playing to save jobs amid disappointing season
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- Raheem Morris, Falcons playing to save jobs amid disappointing season
Poor Raheem Morris. After waiting 13 years to finally get another crack at an NFL head coaching gig in 2024, his Atlanta Falcons were just (officially) eliminated from the playoff picture with a blowout loss last weekend.
And that seat is seemingly getting so warm.
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Under Morris' watch, the Falcons (4-9) have lost seven of their last eight games to clinch the franchise's eighth consecutive losing season. No, given the stumbles of predecessors Arthur Smith and Dan Quinn, not all eight of those sub-.500 campaigns contained Morris' fingerprints. Yet he was hired to buck the trend and is failing miserably.
The offense, even when at full strength, has seriously underachieved. The special teams are much worse, with "Bad News Bears" tendencies. The defense is improved, yet is far from being confused for a championship unit.
The status quo will not cut it. Changes are surely coming.
Morris knows. As a Thursday night primetime matchup at Tampa looms (Amazon Prime, 8:15 p.m. ET), speculation about his future has intensified.
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"For me, that's the price of doing business," Morris told reporters this week at Falcons headquarters. "You don't put yourself in these positions to worry about those things. As a leader, you've got to stand up in front of people and answer the hard questions. You also get to stand up and be the good example for your guys and how you finish things."
It's that time of year. With the holidays come a lot of hollering about coaches' jobs. Just imagine how the Falcons' freefall might be wearing on the patience of team owner Arthur Blank, going on eight years since his franchise won its last playoff game on Jan. 6, 2018.
Blow it up again? Start over again?
As tempted as he might be, and as loud as the Falcoholics might get (some Internet sage insists the term derives from the Falcons driving their fans to drink) Blank should give this a bit more time. And not because of another dead-money situation. After the exhaustive search (that passed on Bill Belichick) led Blank to roll with Morris, there's something to be said for sticking to his conviction.
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Patience is wearing thin in Atlanta, but it's what Falcons need
Look at how patience worked for a couple of other coaches who are now regarded among the best in the NFL. Dan Campbell was 12-21-1 over his first two seasons with the Detroit Lions ; Kyle Shanahan was 10-22 in his first two years with the San Francisco 49ers .
Sure, this was the year (like last year) the Falcons were supposed to compete for the NFC South title that has been owned by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the past four seasons. Remember, last season the Falcons swept the Bucs and beat the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles , too. Had they managed the clock better in a couple losses, they might have been in the playoffs. Nonetheless, there was some spark and a promising young quarterback in Michael Penix, Jr. (whose season ended last month with a torn ACL), to go with wonder-back Bijan Robinson and talented pass catchers Drake London , Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts .
What next?
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Blank hasn't commented publicly about his coach's status or the team's current crisis, which also fuels criticism of general manager Terry Fontenot. Although Fontenot, in the fifth year of a six-year contract, has assembled some premium talent with high picks since becoming GM in 2020 — which includes James Pearce , drafted in April with the 2026 first-round pick traded to the Los Angeles Rams — notable misses include defensive back Richie Grant and linebacker Trey Anderson, second-round picks in 2021 and 2022, respectively. And the massive deal to lure Kirk Cousins (four years, $180 million), while coming off a torn Achilles, will haunt the Falcons salary cap for two more years.
As usual, Blank was in the room as Morris addressed the media following the 37-9 shellacking from the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 7. When Morris finished his press conference, he briefly mingled with Blank and some of the owner's family members. As Blank left the stadium, he waved and greeted media members — yet unlike the approachable vibe he used to flow with, did not stop for questions — as he was escorted away by security personnel.
If Blank was embarrassed, it is understood. One football move after another have yet to pan out. Yet Morris, who meets with Blank weekly on Mondays, was upbeat when asked about the support from the team's owner.
"He is 100% in support of me," Morris maintained. "Support is not an issue. He is absolutely outstanding. His ability to listen. His ability to be there for us, his ability to be in it with us, is absolutely 100% awesome."
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Falcons staff changes are almost certain. The questions are where, how many
Time will tell whether Morris can continue to bank on that support. If he stays, the pressure on Morris will ramp up to find an offensive coordinator to bring out the best in the talent. Zac Robinson, who came off the Sean McVay tree but never called plays until landing with the Falcons last year, has been married to the pistol formation — and without mobile quarterbacks. And Atlanta, second-worst in the NFL for third-down conversion rate (31%), has scored the sixth-fewest points in the league (252) while averaging 19.4 points per game.
After last season, Morris replaced defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake with Jeff Ulbrich. That's worked out. Bolstered by a better pass rush that includes first-round edge rushers Jalon Walker and Pearce, the 14th-ranked defense has a lot more teeth. Atlanta ranks third in the NFL with 43 sacks, on pace to threaten the franchise record (55) set over 16 games in 1997.
Meanwhile, special teams coordinator Marquise Williams is undoubtedly on the hot seat, too. Last weekend, Seattle took control of the game when Rashid Shaheed returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons had a field goal blocked, too. And it all represented more misery for the unit that has cycled through three kickers this season and is last in the league for kick-return average. A week earlier, the close loss at the New York Jets was stamped by key special teams gaffes (an 83-yard kickoff return allowed and a muffed punt) that led to 10 points.
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After the game in New York, Morris, who earlier this season fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard, bristled when asked about the job security of his special teams coach.
Yet the questions aren't going away.
"Staff changes right now are irrelevant," Morris said. "You always want to go across and evaluate everything at the end of the season."
It must be tough being a Falcons fan. And 28-3 was just one Super Bowl 51 reflection of the heartbreak. The current meter is running at 6-15 since starting 6-3 in Morris' first nine games at the helm last season. Rather than playing for the division title, the Falcons head into the Thursday night primetime game playing to save face and perhaps jobs.
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After last weekend's loss, Morris came with a one-game-at-a-time response when I asked whether he had a message for the long-suffering base of supporters stomaching another losing season.
"Our fan base deserves a winner," Morris said. "The only thing we can do is try to find a way to go win in this Thursday football game. You can't make any promises you can't keep at this moment. All you can do is give them the best effort you can give them, potentially on Thursday night."
That effort and the attached results have hardly been good enough lately, which is exactly why the Falcons are flying into a storm of speculation. Or worse.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X @JarrettBell .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: With Raheem Morris on hot seat, Falcons face Buccaneers on TNF
