NFL insider pegs prime OC candidate for Raheem Morris, Falcons

The Falcons ended a circus of a head coaching search by announcing on Thursday night that Raheem Morris was hired.

Fans should be familiar with Morris, who spent time from 2015 to 2020 in Atlanta in various roles. He was a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for much of that time; then a defensive coordinator before being named the interim head coach when Dan Quinn was fired after an 0-5 start to the 2020 season.

Following the season, the Falcons passed over Morris in favor of Arthur Smith, which Arthur Blank is seemingly admitting was a mistake. Morris went on to join Sean McVay’s staff in Los Angeles, where he helped the Rams win a Super Bowl as their defensive coordinator.

Now, he’ll get a well deserved shot at being a head coach again, his second stint. The first of which came with the Buccaneers more than a decade ago, in which he led Tampa to a 10-win season in 2010 before being fired following a 4-12 finish in 2011.

The Falcons surprised a lot of people by hiring Raheem Morris. He’s going to be tasked with a tall order. Not only is he going to be expected to deliver immediately, but he’s also going to have to find an answer at the quarterback position, and with that comes another important domino — the offensive coordinator.

Unless the Falcons hired an offensive head coach, the new man in charge was going to have to immediately figure out the two roles, and there’s a strong candidate to fill one of them. According to Adam Schefter, the Rams quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Zac Robinson will be a prime candidate to join Morris in Atlanta.