FLOWERY BRANCH — Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was in only his second year coaching when he met Raheem Morris, who was a safety on the Hofstra football team.
“There are very few people that were born to be a captain or leader or a teacher,” Quinn told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. “He’s one that was.”
Quinn and Morris established a coach-player bond.
“So, like his last year playing (at Hofstra) was my second year coaching,” Quinn said. “He was coaching then, even when he was playing. We go back that far to where he had that part of communication, decisiveness as a ballplayer. It turned into the way he coaches. That’s why he rose so quickly. He has a connection (with the players).”
Morris, who’s been the Rams’ defensive coordinator for three seasons, was named the Falcons’ 19th head coach Thursday.
“I’ve watched the process over these last three years, and he’s come close in a few places,” Rams general manager Les Snead told The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Friday. “They can tell everybody who didn’t get the job that they finished second if they wanted to. Based on my history with the Falcons and what that organization means to me, the owner (Arthur Blank) and (Morris), all of it combined, it’s really cool to see that come together and happen. Just as a person, as a fan and not just as a GM.”
Morris previously worked with the Falcons on Quinn’s staff from 2015-20, serving in several capacities, and he was interim head coach after Quinn was fired. Quinn is one of two coaches to guide the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance.
“I was traveling,” said Quinn, who is a candidate to replace Pete Carroll as the head coach of the Seahawks. “I was just leaving Seattle (on Thursday). I was interviewing, so I had my phone in my bag. I didn’t get to talk to him until about 5 o’clock (Pacific time). I just took a break and snuck outside.
“Sat down and give him like a one-minute, ‘Hell yeah.’ I was excited for him. He’s one of my oldest and best friends both in coaching and out. This is a really good hire, and person. He’s going to crush it.”
Quinn feels that Morris’ time spent coaching the offense made him a stronger head coaching candidate.
“Yes, no doubt about,” Quinn said. “I think he’ll be the first to tell you that the years that he did that helped him as a defensive coach, knowing that he was going to come back on the defensive side. It takes a rare person to do that, who can shift between offense and defense and have the ability to do that.”
Eventually, Morris got back to the defense. With the Rams, Morris won initially with a star-studded unit that included defensive tackle Aaron Donald, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, former Georgia standout Leonard Floyd and outside linebacker Von Miller.
This season, the Rams had a sturdy defense that featured Donald and a bunch of mid-round draft picks and undrafted free agents.
Snead, who spent 11 years with the Falcons, felt Morris’ job this season with a no-name defense helped his case to be a head coach.
“It’s well publicized,” Snead said. “Less experienced. Cheapest defense in the NFL history, or whatever you want to say. But Rah helped that defense to evolve. Metrics, we were down the middle, 15th in a lot of things. But wow, that’s a good 15.”
That was on display in the playoffs when the Rams played the Lions in the divisional round. That may have led Snead to making his end-of-season endorsement of Morris.
“I don’t even know if they had a third down in the first half,” Snead said. “Then we came out and held them to three points in the second half. We just saw that a little bit. This is the year Raheem deserves a job in terms of being a coach and being responsible for, in his case, the defense from A to Z. Getting results … that’s was probably what led me to making that statement and going a little bit out of the box.”
Quinn trusted Morris with so many different roles in part because of his communication skills.
“Not everybody learns in the same way,” Quinn said. “So, what is needed for (one player) is different for (another player). That’s like a special and rare gift that he has. He’s got a personality that people gravitate toward. The team and the guys will play really, really hard under his watch.”
Rams coach Sean McVay also is a supporter of Morris.
“Raheem has a charisma, presence, and ability to communicate and connect with players and coaches that’s truly unmatched,” McVay said. “He epitomizes great leadership through the ways he elevates everyone around him and makes every environment he’s a part of better. Atlanta hired an incredibly special coach, but an even more exceptional person who will lead the right way.”
Morris has a 21-38 record as a head coach. He was 17-31 in three years in Tampa Bay (2009-11) as the head coach and 4-7 as the Falcons’ interim coach in 2020.
“Here’s how I would look at that,” Snead said. “He probably got the coaching job a little bit too young. (Morris was 32 when hired.) Then you go, if you’re going to hire a young coach like that, it’s probably on the organization to help that coach. Maybe, you give him a longer runway. Given all that, he did have a 10-6 record at one time.”
Snead believes that coaching experience over a decade ago, will be helpful this time around.
“I think that head coach is going to be a better head coach the second time around,” Snead said. “Been in the chair, had to learn some lessons and now has a chance to apply them.”
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