Changes in Atlanta: Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot Out of the Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons have made important decisions after two disappointing seasons. The team announced the firing of coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday night. These changes come after the Falcons finished the season with an 8-9 record, following a home victory against the New Orleans Saints with a score of 19-17. Fontenot had been with the Falcons since 2021, while Morris was hired in 2024.The team reported that the search for replacements for both positions will begin immediately. Despite the Falcons closing the season with four consecutive wins, players like Drake London, Jessie Bates III, and Bijan Robinson expressed their desire for Morris to continue as coach and for Fontenot to remain in his position.However, during Fontenot’s management, the Falcons failed to have a winning season. Under Morris’s direction, the team had a 16-18 record in two campaigns. The Falcons haven’t reached the playoffs since 2017, representing the second-longest drought in the NFL. Furthermore, they haven’t had a season with a positive balance in eight years. Fontenot, 45, came to the Falcons after 17 seasons with the Saints, where he most recently served as assistant general manager and vice president of professional personnel. This was his first job as general manager. His arrival coincided with the hiring of Arthur Smith as coach. Smith was fired after the 2023 season, and Morris was appointed to replace him. Atlanta had an 8-9 record in 2024, despite a promising 6-3 start. One of the biggest challenges for Fontenot was the inability to find a suitable quarterback after Matt Ryan’s departure. Since Ryan’s exit in 2021, the Falcons have had five quarterbacks: Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, Kirk Cousins, and Michael Penix Jr., none of whom have achieved consistent performance. During the 2024 offseason, the Falcons signed Cousins, who was coming off an Achilles tendon injury, to a four-year contract with at least $100 million guaranteed. Six weeks later, they selected Penix at the number 8 pick in the draft. The strategy was for Cousins to be the quarterback of the present and Penix the one of the future. Cousins performed well at the beginning of the 2024 season, helping the Falcons reach a 6-3 record. However, his performance declined during a four-game losing streak, and he was replaced by Penix in Week 16. Although Penix has shown flashes of potential, his performance has been inconsistent in 12 starts this season, before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Week 11. Penix is expected to be out of action for between nine and twelve months. Morris, 49, was hired as Atlanta’s coach in January 2024, following a successful three-year stint as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, which included a Super Bowl victory. (Morris previously was part of the Falcons’ staff starting in 2015; he was named defensive coordinator in 2020 under Dan Quinn and became the team’s interim coach later that season, when Quinn was fired.) Morris’s only previous experience as a head coach was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, where he had a record of 17-31.I have a great personal affection for both Raheem and Terry and I appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles in the future,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank in a statement. “The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and who have a shared commitment to the values important to the organization is not easy, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leaders. I wish Raheem and Terry the best in their future endeavors.
Arthur Blank, Falcons Owner
