Raheem Morris returns to Atlanta with a chance for revenge

FLOWERY BRANCH — Because the Falcons and their beleaguered fans haven’t sampled quite enough from the humility buffet, a fresh platter of sober introspection could be coming out from the kitchen shortly.

A warm welcome back to Raheem Morris, defensive coordinator of the undefeated San Francisco 49ers, whom the Falcons will face Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The 49ers rank fifth in the NFL in total defense, sixth in quarterback pressure rate and possibly first in “defensive coordinators lusting for revenge against former employers.”

Terrific.

Losing to the 49ers would be injury enough. The Falcons are 2-4 and have lost two games in a row without doing the thing they’re supposed to do best, which is to run the ball with star running back Bijan Robinson.

Falling to 2-5 wouldn’t entirely doom the Falcons — in the 14-team playoff era that began in 2020, four out of 34 teams that started 2-5 ultimately made the playoffs, per Stathead. But let’s just say that, to still be in the playoff picture, the picture would have to be big enough to cover the side of a bus.

And to have Morris deliver this punishing blow?

Just one more galling Sunday for Falcons fans to endure.

Morris was energetic and likable, but he was not a head coach. His dismissal was not widely debated.

In the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Morris failed as a head coach with the Falcons to the extent that he compelled owner Arthur Blank, a firm believer that the path to NFL success is through continuity of leadership, to press the eject button after just two seasons.

This is the second time a former head coach has come back for a pound of flesh in just three years, after the deposed Arthur Smith returned to Atlanta as offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers and left with an 18-10 win in the 2024 opener, Morris’ debut game.

Worse — with the Falcons, there is usually a “worse” — Morris’ defense could play an especially impactful role. At multiple critical moments, the Falcons could not fend off the Bears’ pass-rush pressure this past Sunday, a 31-23 home defeat.

The Falcons were accomplices in a historic performance by Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon, who, in a mere 17 snaps, became just the second defensive back to record three sacks and two forced fumbles in a game since the NFL began recording sacks as a statistic in 1982.

Surely, Morris will test the Falcons for protection vulnerabilities and has a defense capable of exploiting them. The 49ers have achieved their sixth-highest QB pressure rate (27%) despite ranking 19th in blitz percentage (24.5%).

And, just as surely, Morris will be motivated to leave no stone unturned in search of an advantage against the Falcons.

“This is his old team,” Robinson said. “He’s going to bring juice to those guys.”

Further, the 49ers have been without five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa, who has only played in two games this season because of a calf injury, but — naturally — could be available for Sunday’s game.

“There’s so many things that go into success or failure on a given play,” Stefanski said Wednesday about pass protection against the blitz. “And certainly, there are things that we feel like we can do better at. It’s a multifaceted approach when you say you want to get better at anything.”

Not exactly “We’ve got it completely under control and we’ll do better on Sunday,” but credit to Stefanski for tempering expectations. Morris’ fallback line for addressing failures — “We’ve got to find a way” — sounded like bold leadership until he and his team were repeatedly unable to find a way, a Waymo trapped in a cul-de-sac.

For what it’s worth, the Falcons have the capacity to surprise in games like this, when logic would not suggest little chance for victory. Morris himself led the Falcons to wins over an eventual Super Bowl champion (the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles) and a Buffalo Bills team that went 12-5 (in 2025).

Who expected the Falcons to throttle the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 as 4.5-point underdogs in Michael Penix Jr.’s season debut?