Falcons coach Raheem Morris has a second chance to get his defensive coordinator hire right. He needs to go after someone with more job-specific experience than his first hire had.
Which is to say, anyone who has held an NFL defensive coordinator job for at least one day.
Morris gambled by hiring Jimmy Lake to run his defense. Lake had previously been a defensive coordinator only at the college level and, before coming to the Falcons, had spent only one season in the NFL since 2011 (in 2023 with the Los Angeles Rams as assistant head coach and working with the offense).
The risk blew up. Lake was fired Saturday, and the responsibility is all on Morris.
Particularly in hindsight, but even when it happened, Morris’ hire of Lake was concerning.
Morris was hired with the expectation that he would lead the Falcons to the playoffs this season after six consecutive losing seasons. This was not a rebuild where a first-time NFL coordinator could learn on the job, but a situation where one loss could be costly.
It was puzzling, then, that Morris hired two first-time NFL coordinators, Lake and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Morris obviously thought both would fit his vision and believed in their potential. What he could not have known was how effective they would be as first-time NFL coordinators in an all-important season. Particularly in leading a team whose owner is guided by the principle of “the best or nothing,” were Robinson and Lake really the two top candidates — the two coordinators most likely to hit the ground running and lead playoff-worthy units?
(To Morris’ credit, it appears his hire of Robinson has worked out, although it’s easy to wonder if a veteran coordinator would have been more capable of rescuing quarterback Kirk Cousins from his midseason nosedive.)
Given his own background as a defensive coordinator, Morris may have felt safe with Lake, knowing he could support him as needed. The two have a history going back almost 20 years.
There are at least two problems with that, though. One, if that was the case and Morris was giving extra time to Lake as he navigated his first season, that was time that Morris could have spent elsewhere had he hired a seasoned coordinator.
Two, if Morris was providing another set of eyes to the defense, how are we supposed to feel about Morris’ coaching, given how the unit actually played?
Lake and Morris’ defense finished 23rd in total defense (345.2 yards per game) and scoring defense (24.9 points per game). The Falcons were 31st in sacks (31). The defense regressed in each category compared with 2023.
The Falcons performed better following their bye between their 11th and 12th games of the season, albeit against weaker competition. Lake credited Morris for helping improve a dormant pass rush.
But when the defense was needed most, it collapsed. In the final two games of the season, when the Falcons were in desperate need of wins, they were trampled by Washington and Carolina in the second halves and overtimes to lose both games. As you likely know, that relegated them to a seventh consecutive season with a losing record and no playoff appearance.
One last uninspiring possibility is that Lake (with Morris’ help) actually did do a decent job helping a defense that actually isn’t that talented. And if that’s the case, then bringing in a new coordinator won’t solve the underlying issue, especially with the team figuring not to have enough salary-cap room to be major players in free agency.
Whatever the explanation, the defense played more than half the season with a toothless pass rush and didn’t execute when it had to (28th in red-zone touchdown rate, 31st in third-down efficiency).
That’s a lot closer to “nothing” than “the best.”
The rather ironic part of this is that owner Arthur Blank, shortly after Morris’ hire, praised his new coach’s ability to put together a staff.
“The depth of this coaching staff that he’s put together, to me, is remarkable,” Blank said. “But it’s not remarkable because they’re ready to perform now. I’m going to assume — I know it’s a big word — but I’m going to assume we’re going to be successful, win a lot of games.”
After only one season, Morris had to fire two members of his remarkable staff, Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers. (And, we presume, Blank smashed his Magic 8 Ball into a million pieces.)
This is all a long way of saying that Morris absolutely has to nail this hire. Morris needs a veteran NFL coordinator who is ready to contribute to winning games from Week 1 and who can field a competitive unit made from whatever parts he inherits.
Jeff Ulbrich, who was the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator until he became the interim head coach in October, is a likely candidate. He turned in largely impressive results with the Jets.
Ulbrich and Morris worked together on former coach Dan Quinn’s Falcons staff; Morris made Ulbrich interim defensive coordinator when Morris was named interim head coach after Quinn’s 2020 firing. But that should not matter beyond what the experience tells Morris about Ulbrich’s character and ability to coach.
Seattle assistant head coach Leslie Frazier is another person with experience and a successful record.
Morris cannot afford another season where the defense is the weak link. He needs a defensive coordinator who has been — and is — truly remarkable.
Falcons fans would like to give the best a try. The taste of nothing has gotten old.
About the Author
