Raheem Morris wants to be more decisive, so why not move on from kicker?

In May, Falcons coach Raheem Morris provided a thoughtful answer into how he wanted to develop in his second year as head coach.

Given his handling of the kicking position thus far after another costly miss by Younghoe Koo in Sunday’s season-opening loss, it’s not clear if Morris is adhering to his objectives.

“The No. 1 thing is being able to identify problems faster,” he said on the first day of the Falcons’ organized team activities. “So when we can identify those problems faster, not waiting so long to fix them, I think that’s something that I could do better personally. I think that’s something that we all can really do.”

One can make the case that Morris bringing in tryout kickers this week is a sign he actually is working faster to solve problems. Maybe the 2024 Morris would have stood firmly behind Koo after he pushed a potential game-tying field-goal try from 44 yards wide right in the final seconds of the Falcons’ home loss to division opponent Tampa Bay on Sunday, continuing his injury-plagued underperformance from last season.

In Flowery Branch, Morris told assembled media that bringing in kickers for tryouts “definitely creates more of a sense of urgency to be able to have competitive edge for Koo, for all of us, and to put ourselves in those positions to do the right thing for our football team at all costs.”

Compare that with something else he said in May. It frames his decision to hold on to Kirk Cousins as his starting quarterback until it became beyond clear that he wasn’t the best option and perhaps what is happening now with Koo.

“I’m always fired up for that learning curve of everything,” Morris said. “That always interests me. That’s something I always love.”

Maybe Morris said what he said about increasing his sense of urgency to give Koo cover, although it would have been a funny way to do it.

“Hang in there with Koo. We just need to light a fire under him even though he is paid really well to always be at his best.”

But if Morris actually believes that Koo’s problem is a lack of urgency, then he should just go ahead and show him the door. Koo could have been justifiably cut after last season — or even during the season — and was essentially handed a free pass onto a team with a razor-thin margin for error that is trying to end a seven-year playoff drought.

After all that, if Koo badly missed a must-have kick because he needs to hone his competitive edge, how much more evidence does Morris need to collect?

And, to go back a step, maybe it would have been a good idea to bring to training camp a legitimate competitor to create the sense of urgency that Koo apparently lacks, rather than a kicker who has yet to attempt a single regular-season kick outside of Europe. (Nothing against Lenny Krieg. Or Europe, for that matter.)

Is the plan with these tryouts to rattle Koo’s cage and send a clear message that he could lose his job if he doesn’t improve?

Come on. Is the next step to take the nameplate off the back of his practice jersey and make him get dressed for practice in his car instead of the locker room?

Is there any way to think that Koo, who had to fight his way back into the NFL after getting cut four games into his rookie season, didn’t come through because he doesn’t take his job seriously enough?

And, again, if that actually is the problem, why is he still around? That’s not, in Morris’ own words, doing “the right thing for our football team at all costs.”

It all suggests that Morris isn’t ready to put to practice the lesson he said he learned from his first season — recognize problems more quickly and don’t wait too long to pull the trigger.

Look. Given Koo’s track record, you could make the case that Koo deserves one more Sunday. He’s made a boatload of big kicks for this team, and maybe the opener was a fluke after his injury-plagued 2024. Morris and special-teams coordinator Marquice Williams know Koo way better than any of us.

But if that’s Morris’ belief, then he should say it, own it and be prepared to wear the loss like a cape if a Koo miss costs the Falcons again.

Or maybe he has reached the difficult decision that Koo has missed for the last time as a Falcon. But if that’s what he and general manager Terry Fontenot believe, then go ahead and make the change.

They’re not operating in a vacuum. There’s no reason to think that another team couldn’t scoop up the kicker at the top of Fontenot’s chart because its own guy just strained a calf muscle.