FLOWERY BRANCH — Raheem Morris, who was hired Thursday as the franchise’s 19th coach, is working on pulling together his coaching staff.
Morris will replace Arthur Smith, who was the head coach and offensive play-caller for the past three seasons. Morris, is a defensive coordinator, but has spent time coaching the offense.
Rams passing-game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson is set to become the offensive coordinator.
Dallas defensive line coach Aden Durde, LSU co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton and former Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai are three additional candidates for Morris’ staff.
Also, Falcons special-teams coordinator Marquice Williams, who was blocked from initial interviews, turned down an offer from the Patriots. He’s being retained by Morris.
“Oh yeah, I really like what he’s thinking,” Rams general manager Les Snead told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Morris’ list of potential coaching candidates.
Snead has seen Morris’ list, which has changed some. However, Snead didn’t want to reveal some of the names because the candidates are under contract with other teams.
“He has to go through a process,” Snead said. “I don’t want to get Rah in trouble.”
Robinson, who played quarterback at Oklahoma State, was also in the running for the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator position.
“I know that Zac has had a lot of interviews,” Snead said. “Tampa was really hot on him after they lost Dave (Canales to the Panthers as head coach). Zac’s ideal place will be going with Rah.”
Robinson, 37, was a seventh-round pick (250th overall) by the New England Patriots in 2010. He spent time with the Patriots, Seahawks, Lions and Bengals, but never played in an NFL regular-season game. He was out of football until joining the Rams staff in 2019 as an assistant quarterbacks coach.
Robinson was the wide receivers coach in 2020 before going back to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2021. He has served as the passing-game coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons.
Robinson will need to spruce up the Falcons’ passing attack. The Falcons ranked 18th, 31st and 22nd in passing yards per game in Smith’s three seasons.
The Rams ranked 27th in 2022 and 10th last season with Robinson overseeing the passing attack.
Robinson was also a candidate with the Steelers and Patriots.
Durde, who’s from London and played and coached American football, did a coaching internship with Dallas Cowboys.
Durde’s introduction to the Falcons came in 2016, when former coach Dan Quinn granted him a spot with the Bill Walsh NFL diversity coaching fellowship, thanks to a reference from former defensive passing-game coordinator Jerome Henderson. Henderson knew Durde from his stint with the Cowboys.
Durde became the NFL’s first full-time British coach when the Falcons hired him in 2018 to be a defensive quality-control assistant. He was named the outside linebackers coach in 2020.
After Quinn was fired by the Falcons, Durde went with him to Dallas, where he’s been the defensive line coach since 2021.
Hankton, 43, played in the NFL and was formerly an assistant coach at Georgia. He played for the Jaguars from 2003-2006, caught 34 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns. He played in 46 games and made 1 start.
Hankton has been coaching in the college ranks since 2012. He’s been at Dartmouth (2003-06) Georgia (2018-2021) and LSU (2022 to present).
Also, former Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai is set to interview with the Falcons and Bills. He was fired by the Eagles after the season. He had a shaky season and was demoted in-season. He’s also coached with the Seahawks and Bears.
Morris, who was the Rams’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, would prefer not to call the defense.
“My bet is that he won’t call the defense,” Snead said. “It’s probably based on who he gets and if he feels comfortable. I think with his knowledge on both sides of the ball, he feels like he can direct some of his energy into the other places and help both sides of the ball rather than just focusing in on one side.”
Former Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who spent one season with the team, was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Jaguars.
The Falcons, who spent heavily in free agency before the 2023 season, made major improvements under Nielsen. They finished 11th in the NFL in yards allowed per game (321.1), eighth against the pass (202.9), 20th against the run (118.2) and 19th in points allowed (21.9).
After registering only 21 sacks in 2022, the Falcons doubled that total (42) under Nielsen in 2023. The 44-year-old Nielsen formerly was the co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach for the Saints before joining the Falcons.
Nielsen was hired to replace Dean Pees, who retired after the 2022 season.
Williams was in heavy demand. He was blocked from interviewing and then allowed to interview.
Williams reportedly turned down a similar position with the Patriots to stay with the Falcons.
“I love working with (Younghoe Koo),” Williams said. “I love working with Bradley (Pinion), Liam (McCullough) and those guys.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
About the Author
