The Falcons are set to entrust their most critical unit to Chris Morgan, a first-time head offensive line coach.
There is a school of thought that you need veteran line coaches, ones who have been through some NFL trench wars and will command the unquestioned respect of their meeting room.
The Falcons had an opportunity to hire longtime offensive line Mike Solari, but the 27-year NFL coaching veteran, who last was with San Francisco, elected to sign with Green Bay to be an assistant offensive line coach.
But Morgan comes highly recommended from Seattle assistant head coach/offensive line Tom Cable, who taught him the intricacies of the outside-zone blocking system. Cable was the Falcons’ offensive line coach under Jim Mora.
“I actually played for him, way back at Colorado,” Morgan said. “I played for him and then I worked for him at the University of Idaho. Then I worked for him in Oakland and in Seattle. He’s definitely been a big influence on me and the style that I’ll try to bring here.”
The last time the Falcons had a first-time head NFL offensive line coach was under Bobby Petrino in 2007. Mike Summers, a respected long-time college coach with 26 years of college experience, had trouble in his one season in the NFL.
Center Todd McClure quietly helped in the meeting room as the team risked wasting rookie second-pick Justin Blalock, who was removed from the lineup late in the season. Paul Boudreau, a veteran NFL coach hired under Mike Smith, got Blalock on track.
However, Morgan is not coming into the NFL cold.
Morgan, who played at Colorado from 1995-99, has coached in the NFL with the Raiders (2010), Washington (2011-13) and last season with the Seahawks.
The Falcons will continue to juggle things along the offensive line as left tackle Jake Matthews (foot), center Joe Hawley (knee) and center/guard Peter Konz (knee) are rebounding from surgery. Also, guard Jon Asamoah had a ankle injury over the offseason.
In May, they added veterans in guard/center Chris Chester and tackle Tyler Polumbus. They signed guard Mike Person and Jared Smith in free agency.
The Falcons signed offensive tackle DeMarcus Love, 27, a sixth-round pick in 2011 by Minnesota, on Wednesday. The Arkansas product has not played in an NFL game.
Love was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs in 2013. The Falcons likely will make room for Love by deactivating tackle Lamar Holmes, who has a broken foot.
There are no Pro Bowlers in the group for Morgan to mold. He will be assisted by Keith Carter and can lean on long-time NFL running backs coach Bobby Turner, who knows the blocking system after 20 years in the NFL.
Morgan believes he’s ready for the challenge.
“Probably, the No. 1 thing is that the guys have to be able to move,” Morgan said.
Morgan, while eager to get his players back from injury, used the offseason to try and develop some potential depth.
“It was actually really cool because we got to work with all of these guys,” Morgan said. “The guys were great about it. The guys that were not out there, were trying to get back as fast as they could.”
The Falcons are determined to make the rushing attack more potent after ranking 24th in the NFL while averaging 93.6 yards per game last season. Morgan believed the team created a foundation for some major improvement over the offseason.
“It’s a little bit different, but they did a good job with it,” Morgan said.
While Matthews and Asamoah will be difficult to unseat, Morgan believes all of the line jobs are open.
“Everything in this program is built on competition,” Morgan said.
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