Dear Mr. Arthur Blank,
I’ve got a confession to make. I was wrong about Raheem Morris.
Almost two years ago I used this space to provide a rave review of the second-year Falcons head coach. I called him the “right” hire based on his experience, familiarity and his specialization as a “player’s coach.”
But my “right” was definitely a “wrong.”
After Sunday’s overtime 30-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons’ season is all but over at 3-7. This means that the Falcons are well on their way to an eighth consecutive losing season and a top five draft pick… oh wait.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. This was finally going to be the year we put it all together.
Michael Penix Jr. was supposed to take a sophomore leap. Drake London was supposed to emerge into a top wide receiver. Bijan Robinson was supposed to be one of the best players in the NFL. Kyle Pitts was supposed to become a reliable and trusted target. The defense, specifically the pass rush, was supposed to go to another level after the additions of Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.
Except… uhm… that’s what happened.
So why the heck are the Falcons 3-7, Mr. Blank? It’s coaching.
Morris seems to have no sense of clock management. There were glimpses in 2024, but this season has exposed this on an entirely new level.
The latest example came just over a week ago in Berlin. Kaden Elliss sacked Colts quarterback Daniel Jones to force a third-and-long situation with 47 seconds left in the half. The Falcons had two timeouts and could have saved some clock and had a chance to score before the half ended.
Jessie Bates picks off Jones on the next play, which could’ve set up the Falcons in a scoring spot. But, of course, there was little time on the clock, because Morris couldn’t be bothered to use a timeout.
The move was so poor that the announcers for that game publicly questioned Morris’ decision making. It’s the type of mistake you expect a rookie head coach to make, not one who’s coached 86 games in the NFL as a head coach (counting Sunday’s loss against the Panthers).
The second problem Morris has is the company that he surrounds himself with.
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been a complete disaster this year. Once thought of as a shining star of the Sean McVay coaching tree, he has cost the Falcons several games this year with his predictable and often intelligence-insulting play calling.
The billboard example of this came against the San Francisco 49ers. With the game essentially on the line, the Falcons faced a 4th-and-1 scenario. The sensical call? Get the ball in the hands of your best player, Bijan Robinson.
Bijan wasn’t even on the field. We lost.
The defensive coordinator position has also been a serious problem. Jimmy Lake was never a good fit for the job, and he was rightfully let go. His replacement was Jeff Ulbrich, a personal friend of Morris who has been with the Falcons before.
Some may credit Ulbrich with some of the improvements on the defensive side of the ball. I don’t.
When you spend two first round draft picks on premier pass rushers, it’s difficult to not have a better pass rush. Outside of the improved pass rush, the defense has collapsed multiple times this season. This has been a key part in the Falcons’ five-game losing streak and it reared an ugly head when Panthers tight end Tommy Trimble ran all over the defense in overtime on Sunday.
That’s a solid segway into the next problem of Morris: The personnel choices.
There are questionable personnel choices across the board. Do you know who the third wide receiver is right now? That would be David Sills V. That says enough, I think.
And that same defense that’s cost the Falcons several games? Half of them shouldn’t be seeing the field. There’s no reason why Ronnie Harrison, JD Bertrand and Natrone Brooks should be getting consistent NFL snaps. These are not NFL quality players.
Of course, the big elephant in the room is the kicker position. Morris made the costly decision of not cutting bait on Younghoe Koo before the season began and it cost us a game. Then he made a second mistake by trusting Parker Romo to carry us to the promise land. Except, he too lost a game for the Falcons.
Now we’re onto Zane Gonzalez, who has been OK thus far. We’ll see how long that lasts.
It’s these culmination of errors that are holding this team back from its potential. There’s no logical reason that a team with this much star power is this poor. This team may very well be the best on paper, but that paper is just as good as the one I’m writing on right now.
Now, Mr. Blank, I know what you’re wondering. Who the heck would the Falcons even get as a replacement? Honestly, I don’t know.
The head coaching pool is not what it was in 2024, when we passed up on successful coaches like Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel and Jim Harbaugh. But, hey, at least I was right about Bill Belichick. Woof.
There are some promising experienced prospects like Mike McCarthy and Brian Daboll, who I think can be an NFL head coach again next year. I could see someone like Joe Brady or maybe even someone from the college scene being an option if you really wanted to go crazy.
But I speak for around 95% of the fan base when we say, it’s time to pull the plug on Morris. It’s for the best.
Sincerely, the 24-year concerned fan,
Evan
Evan Newton is the managing editor of The Covington News. He can be reached at enewton@covnews.com.
