The only team to interview Bill Belichick this month, the Falcons look to be heading in a different direction. A reunion appears close. 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 hire Morris.
This comes after CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported the Rams’ defensive coordinator impressed during his second interview this week. Morris still has a Seahawks interview scheduled, but a Falcons hire could well take place to nix that. Morris spent six seasons in Atlanta prior to moving to Los Angeles, finishing that Falcons tenure as interim HC replacing Dan Quinn.
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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. 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. Blank prioritized experience with this hire. While Belichick’s accomplishments lap every other candidate in this year’s cycle, Morris also checks that box 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’ stance on Belichick was not certain, 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 wraps with 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. 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 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. 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 interested in 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.
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.
More to come.