Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
New Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris sat between the team’s general manager Terry Fontenot and Greg Beadles, the team’s president. On his face was a smile, a really big smile in fact. Morris, who once occupied the Falcons’ top spot on an interim basis, is now the head man in charge. Raheem Morris is also the right man to lead this team.
Here’s why?:
Morris wants to be here. “This is coming home,” he said returning to Atlanta where he went 4-7 as the interim head coach during the 2020 season following a 0-5 start and the subsequent firing of then head coach and current Washington Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn. “When you get a chance to come back home in this profession it is extra important,” said Morris.
Morris gets what this position means. Having worked in Atlanta already, Morris clearly understands what being the first Black head coach for arguably the city’s most popular and polarizing professional sports club means. “I do understand the importance of being the first Black coach of the Atlanta Falcons,” said Morris, who referred to Atlanta as “The Mecca of Black history.”
Later on during the press conference, Morris said he respected the fact that his potentially becoming the first Black man to lead this team without “interim” attached
Morris is experienced and knows what it takes to lead a team. Despite what his overall coaching record might look like at the moment (21-38 overall). A former head coach with the Tampa Bay Bucs from 2009-2011, Morris amassed an overall record of 17-31 during that time and missed the playoffs all three seasons. A highlight, however is what took place during the 2010 season when the Bucs were 10-6. So there’s a winning season mixed up in there and thus an understanding of playing winning football in the NFC South.
“It’s going to be a winning culture and we’re here to win football games,” Morris said.
Morris is a family man. Seconds into his introductory press conference and Morris immediately thanked his family, who were in attendance, including his wife, daughters, son, and his parents. Saying at one point during his opening remarks that it was “Absolutely outstanding that they are here today.” During the press conference I counted Morris using the word “family” 15 times. His village is important to him and that means a lot when you coaching a “family” of men in any endeavor.
For the record, former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith is also a family man. I just wanted to highlight Morris’ recognition of his wife and kids during the press conference.
Morris and Fontenot feel like a buddy cop movie and I LOVE IT. “It’s really cool sitting next to him,” Morris said of Fontenot. The pair both acknowledged how close they have gotten during the interview process, which included more than a dozen people and started on Jan. 8, according to Beadles. Fontenot, in his fourth year as the first Black general manager of the Falcons, joked that he is often on Facetime with Morris enough to already be familiar with his family. The pair of groundbreakers will be getting even closer as NFL draft time nears, so it’s a good thing that the get along. “He’s been to two Super Bowls and he’s got a ring, and we’re going to get him another one,” Fontenot said of Morris, who won a Super Bowl as a member of the Los Angeles Rams staff. “That’s our charge.”
The Atlanta Falcons have a Black head football coach, and this time it is without the interim tag attached. I believe Raheem Morris is the right man to lead this team. Atlanta has missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons, so even though Morris has his hands full, the dude just gets it. “The community supports us on Sundays. It’s our job to support them too,” said Morris.
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