Atlanta Falcons name Raheem Morris interim head coach

Raheem Morris is the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons finally made one of the most expected moves of the 2020 season, as they fired head coach Dan Quinn after an 0-5 start that included two awful fourth-quarter collapses. Their interim coach, who will coach his first game on the road against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, is a name that might come a bit out of the blue for Falcons fans.

The Falcons named Raheem Morris the team’s interim head coach, making this the second time he has been a head coach in the league. This is somewhat surprising, as many expected that offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter would be given the reins.

Raheem Morris has been in charge of a bad defense in Atlanta

Morris got his start in coaching with Jon Gruden on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. he was named head coach in 2008 at the age of 32, but he won just 17 games in three years. Outside of one outlier year from Josh Freeman, Morris never figured out the quarterback situation, and that led to his dismissal.

While Morris will oversee a solid offense, as Matt Ryan and Todd Gurley are least performing at an average level this season, his defense was 31st in the league in yards allowed per game and tied for 31st in points allowed per game, trailing only the Cowboys.

However, Morris clearly has the respect of that locker room, and his experience as defensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and wide receivers coach shows that he as experience coaching both sides of the ball.

Quinn was a quarter away from a Super Bowl, but everything has gone down the tubes since then. If Morris is able to salvage a few wins for them near the end of this season, he could end up with that permanent HC gig.