Raheem Morris facts for kids
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Morris with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024
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| Atlanta Falcons | |
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| Position: | Head coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 3, 1976 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Irvington (Irvington, New Jersey) |
| College: | Hofstra (1994–1997) |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 29–47 (.382) |
| Coaching stats at PFR | |
Raheem Morris (born September 3, 1976) is an American professional football coach. He is currently the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL). Before this, he was the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011. He also served as an interim head coach for the Falcons in 2020. Morris has also been an assistant coach for teams like the Kansas State Wildcats, Washington Redskins, and Los Angeles Rams.
Coaching Career Highlights
Starting Out in Coaching
Raheem Morris played football as a safety at Hofstra University from 1994 to 1997. He earned a degree in Physical Education in 1998. Right after college, he started his coaching journey at Hofstra as a graduate assistant. He helped with the offensive scout team and prepared scouting reports. In 1999, he moved to Cornell University to coach defensive backs and help with special teams. After one year, he returned to Hofstra to coach defensive backs again.
First Time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In 2002, Morris joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive quality control coach. He helped the team build a top-ranked defense. That year, the Buccaneers won their first-ever Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXXVII). They beat the Oakland Raiders with a score of 48–21. In 2003, he became a defensive assistant. From 2004 to 2005, he worked as an assistant defensive backs coach.
Time with Kansas State
After his first time with the Buccaneers, Morris spent one season with the Kansas State Wildcats in 2006. He was their defensive coordinator. He helped improve the team's defense in many areas, like total defense and pass defense. He also helped the Wildcats upset the #4 Texas Longhorns that season.
Return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Morris came back to the Buccaneers in 2007 as their defensive backs coach. He helped improve the team's pass defense significantly. It went from 19th in the league in 2006 to the top spot in 2007.
Becoming a Head Coach
In 2009, Raheem Morris was named the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had previously been set to become their defensive coordinator. He also interviewed for the head coach position with the Denver Broncos.
His first season as head coach started tough, with the team losing their first seven games. However, he earned his first win in Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers. He finished his first year with a 3–13 record. In his second season, 2010, the team improved a lot. They finished with a 10–6 record, just missing the playoffs. This seven-game improvement was the best in the team's history. In 2010, Morris also became the first coach since 1970 to start at least 10 rookie players and still have a winning record.
In 2011, the Buccaneers had a tough season, finishing 4–12. Morris was fired as head coach after this season.
Coaching for the Washington Redskins
On January 11, 2012, Morris was hired by the Washington Redskins as their defensive backs coach.
First Time with the Atlanta Falcons
In 2015, Morris joined the Atlanta Falcons as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach. In 2016, his role changed, and he became the wide receivers coach.
During the 2016 season, Morris and the Falcons made it all the way to Super Bowl LI. They played against the New England Patriots. The Falcons lost the game in overtime with a score of 34–28.
In late 2019, Morris was reassigned to secondary coach. Then, in December 2019, he was promoted to defensive coordinator for the 2020 NFL season.
On October 12, 2020, Morris was promoted to interim head coach for the Falcons. This happened after the previous head coach was fired. Under Morris, the Falcons finished the rest of the season with a 4–7 record. Overall, the team finished 4–12 that year.
Time with the Los Angeles Rams
On January 21, 2021, Morris was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as their defensive coordinator. He worked under head coach Sean McVay. On February 13, 2022, Morris won his second Super Bowl. The Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Second Time with the Atlanta Falcons
After a successful time with the Rams, the Atlanta Falcons hired Raheem Morris as their new head coach on January 25, 2024. He was chosen after the Falcons interviewed several other experienced coaches.
Head Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
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| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TB | 2009 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 4th in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| TB | 2010 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3rd in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| TB | 2011 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 4th in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| TB Total | 17 | 31 | 0 | .354 | — | — | — | — | ||
| ATL* | 2020 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | 4th in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| ATL | 2024 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 2nd in NFC South | – | – | – | – |
| ATL Total | 12 | 16 | 0 | .429 | — | — | — | — | ||
| Total | 29 | 47 | 0 | .382 | — | — | — | — | ||
* Interim head coach
