Dejohnold Raheem Morris (born September 3, 1976) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He previously served as

of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

from 2009 to 2011 and interim head coach of the Falcons in 2020. Morris also was an assistant coach for the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The School colors, official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are gener ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, and

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

Coaching career

Early years

Morris graduated from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

with a degree in Physical Education in 1998 after playing safety at Hofstra from 1994 to 1997. That same year, he began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Hofstra University, being responsible for coaching the offensive scout team, developing scouting reports and handling video breakdown and computer input and analysis. In 1999, Morris was hired by

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

as their defensive backs coach and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

assistant. The following year, he returned to Hofstra as defensive backs coach. Morris spent time in 2001 as an intern with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Before the 2002 season, Morris was hired by the Buccaneers to become their defensive quality control coach, where he helped them have the top-ranked defense and win the franchise's first ever

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

, beating the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

48–21 in

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. In 2003, Morris became a defensive assistant. From 2004 to 2005, he was the assistant defensive backs coach. After 2005, Morris went to Kansas State to be their

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Kansas State

Morris spent one season with the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, as defensive coordinator under then-head coach

Ron Prince Ronald Dale Prince (born September 18, 1969) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 2006 to 2008 and Howard University in 2019, compiling a career college football head coaching record ...

. Morris helped the defense in several statistical categories including total defense, scoring defense and pass defense, and aided the Wildcats in their upset of the #4

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

during the 2006 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)

Before the 2007 season, Morris returned to the Buccaneers to be their defensive backs coach, replacing Greg Burns. After the team's pass defense fell to 19th in 2006, Morris helped the pass defense achieve the league's top ranking in 2007.

Head coach

In December 2008, it was announced that Morris would take over as

for the Buccaneers for the 2009 season after

Monte Kiffin Monte George Kiffin (February 29, 1940 – July 11, 2024) was an American football coach. He is widely considered to have been one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern football, as well as one of the greatest defensive coordinators ...

announced that he would be leaving the team to join his son,

Lane Kiffin Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is the head coach at Ole Miss Rebels football, Ole Miss. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at USC Trojans football, USC from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the National Foo ...

, at

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Just a month later on January 16, 2009,

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is an American football coach and media personality currently employed by Barstool Sports. After beginning his coaching career in the college ranks and working as a position coach and as an offensive co ...

was fired by the Buccaneers and Morris was named the team's head coach. Morris had also interviewed for head coach with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

before being hired by Tampa Bay. After starting the season 0–7, Morris earned his first victory as a head coach in week 9 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. On November 24, 2009, Morris took over defensive coordinator duties after relieving Jim Bates of his duties. He finished his first year as the head coach, leading the team to last in the

NFC South The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season when th ...

with a 3–13 record. In his second season, the team finished 10–6, barely missing the playoffs. That seven-game turnaround was the best in franchise history. In 2010, Morris became the first coach since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger to start at least 10 rookies and finish with a winning record. During Week 13 of the

2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the Super Bowl XLI ...

, against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, Morris banished defensive tackle Brian Price to the sideline after Price shoved Panthers guard Mackenzy Bernadeau well after the end of a third-quarter play in which

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

was sacked for a four-yard loss. Price was penalized for unnecessary roughness. Morris was incensed because the sack would have forced the Panthers into a 3rd-and-14 situation. However, the resulting 15-yard penalty gave the Panthers a first down, allowing them to complete a touchdown drive that put the game out of reach (the Panthers won 38–19). After the game, a visibly angry Morris called Price's actions "foolish" and "selfish." The move drew comparisons to then

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

coach

Mike Singletary Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), nicknamed "Samurai Mike", is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college foo ...

banishing Vernon Davis from the sideline after a personal foul in 2008. On January 2, 2012, Morris was fired as head coach of the Buccaneers after a 4–12 season, including losing their last 10 games.

Washington Redskins

On January 11, 2012, Morris was hired by the

as their defensive backs coach, a position he held until the end of the 2014 season.

Atlanta Falcons

200px, Morris in 2015 On January 26, 2015, it was announced Morris was joining the

as assistant head coach/defensive backs. On January 25, 2016, he was named the wide receivers coach and no longer the defensive backs coach. In the 2016 season, Morris and the Falcons reached

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...

, where they faced the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. On November 4, 2019, Morris was reassigned to secondary coach. On December 27, 2019, Morris was promoted to defensive coordinator for the 2020 NFL season. On October 12, 2020, Morris was promoted to interim head coach, following the firing of Dan Quinn after an 0–5 start to the season. The Falcons finished with a 4–7 record under Morris but finished 4–12 overall and fourth in the NFC South.

Los Angeles Rams

On January 21, 2021, Morris was hired by the

as defensive coordinator under head coach

Sean McVay Sean Patrick McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired ...

, replacing Brandon Staley, who left to become the head coach of the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. On February 13, 2022, Morris won his second Super Bowl as the Rams defeated the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

23–20 in

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

After interviewing Morris, as well as

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh ( ; born December 23, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at ...

, and

Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel ( ; born August 14, 1975) is an American professional American football, football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footba ...

, the

hired Morris as their head coach on January 25, 2024. The Falcons finished the 2024 season second in the NFC South with an 8–9 record.

Head coaching record

* ''Interim head coach''

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons profile
at

Pro Football Reference Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Raheem 1976 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American coaches of American football American football defensive backs Atlanta Falcons coaches Atlanta Falcons head coaches Coaches of American football from New Jersey Cornell Big Red football coaches Hofstra Pride football coaches Hofstra Pride football players Hofstra University alumni Irvington High School (New Jersey) alumni Kansas State Wildcats football coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches NFL defensive coordinators People from Irvington, New Jersey Players of American football from Essex County, New Jersey Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaches Washington Redskins coaches