Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris admonished the Brotherhood.
“He just straight up came with it,” free safety Ricardo Allen said. “He’s going to be tough on us. He’s going to be hard on us.”
No more ice cream and cookies for the Falcons. It’s time for everyone to show what they have, or they’ll all be fired at the end of the season. They are all on the hot seat the rest of the way, beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
“We are going to work together to get through this,” Allen said. “We all put ourselves in this situation. Now, it’s time for us to grind out of it.”
Morris was credited with the team’s turnaround in 2019.
After the Falcons started 1-7, Morris moved over to defense from coaching the wide receivers and helped to foster a 6-2 finish to the season that temporarily saved Dan Quinn' job.
Morris was moved into the defensive coordinator position, but the unit has been shaky this season.
In part because Morris has worked with players on offense and defense, he was named the interim head coach to replace Quinn, who was fired Sunday.
Morris' new challenge is to fix a sputtering offense, get the defense to play some respectable football and get the special teams to play soundly.
“I’m so tied into this team, offensively, defensively and special teams-wise, that I’ve got such a good rapport with all of the guys on the team that the first thing you have to do is connect with your leaders,” Morris said.
He didn’t mince any words with the leaders on defense.
“He brought us in and told us that essentially that he needs more,” Allen said. “He needs more from us.”
Falcons' next four games
Falcons at Vikings at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18al trial
Lions at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday Oct. 25
Falcons at Panthers at 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29
Broncos at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8
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