The Falcoholic
The Atlanta Falcons are at a crossroads.
After a 3-2 start, including an impressive Week 6 victory over the Buffalo Bills, the wheels fell off. Atlanta lost five straight games, ultimately ending up at 4-9 heading into Week 15. The Falcons were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday.
Whenever a team with playoff expectations falters, there will always be questions about the coaching staff. But what the Falcons have experienced is far beyond faltering—this team has collapsed, totally and completely. To make matters worse, the division is wide open: the 7-6 Panthers are currently leading the NFC South. Atlanta may only have needed 9 wins to take it and break an eight-season streak of missing the playoffs.
Raheem Morris is now facing questions about his future in Atlanta. Morris was brought in to elevate a perpetually average Falcons team that had failed to make progress under Arthur Smith. An experienced former head coach who became one of the youngest in NFL history at just 33 years old back in 2009, Morris was viewed as an intriguing candidate for a second opportunity. In the years preceding his hire, Morris spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, including a Super Bowl title run in 2021 and a playoff appearance in 2023.
Morris elected to go the “CEO” route as a head coach, bringing in rookie offensive and defensive playcallers and choosing to take on a higher-level management role. Given his experience on both sides of the ball, this approach made some sense. Unfortunately, Morris has struggled in that role and his lack of control in all three phases—and in-game management—has become a major issue for the Falcons.
With Atlanta staring down one of the worst seasons in recent history, it’s time to make a change at head coach. The total body of work that Raheem Morris has delivered for the Falcons has not earned him a third season.
One of the most important decisions a head coach faces at the start of his regime is who to hire at the three coordinator positions: offensive, defensive, and special teams. Many head coaches are playcallers in one phase, so one of those coordinators is more of a lieutenant. But no matter how you slice it, these three hires form the backbone of your team in all three phases.
These hires were even more critical for Raheem Morris, because he’s not a playcaller. As a “CEO” head coach, he trusts his coordinators to run the three phases of the team. Part of the appeal of Morris was his wide network of relationships across the NFL, and the belief that he could assemble an All-Star staff in Atlanta.
Zac Robinson was considered a top offensive coordinator candidate at the time, and most were excited to see him in Atlanta. Jimmy Lake, the former Washington Huskies head coach and assistant head coach with the Rams, was brought in to coordinate the defense—a much more questionable decision. Morris...
