Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris Placed In Bottom Tier Of CBS Coach Rankings

CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin has ranked Falcons head coach Raheem Morris in the bottom tier of NFL coaches, citing poor decision-making as one of the factors.

CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin has ranked Falcons head coach Raheem Morris in the bottom tier of NFL coaches, citing poor decision-making as one of the factors.

After the collapse of last season, and after Atlanta was sitting pretty atop the NFC South at 6-3, things took a turn in more ways than one. Since then, the rankings compiled by Benjamin have kept Morris near the bottom due to the expectations set in Atlanta, which were not capitalized on.

The bottom tier labels head coaches as unproven or underwhelming. Thankfully, the list offers head coaches a chance at redemption, but they must prove themselves. Within the tier, he was ranked 27th overall. Among the coaches ranked under Morris are Brian Callahan, Brian Schottenheimer, Brian Daboll, Kellen Moore, and Aaron Glenn. Three are first-time head coaches.

“For a team that was supposed to be a quarterback away going into 2024, the young Falcons have a lot of questions after Morris’ situational calls contributed to another non-playoff season in Atlanta,” Benjamin said.

Some think that Morris leans more towards the “unproven” side, rather than the “underwhelming” one, due to a lack of situational awareness in tight situations, such as clock management and not pulling Cousins sooner, etc.

The most prominent example that comes to mind is the decision not to call a timeout in the Week 17 matchup against the Commanders on Sunday Night Football. The Falcons were heading down the field and almost made it to the 50-yard line with two timeouts and 40 seconds left on the clock. Atlanta would fail to call a timeout and was forced to rush with 17 seconds left, only to miss a game-winning field goal opportunity.

Raheem Morris is on the hot seat to begin the year in Atlanta, and if the decision is made to start Michael Penix Jr., revamping the defense to get pressure on the opposing quarterbacks, and if any mishap occurs when it comes to clock management? He could be looking at a farewell.