Raheem Morris poaches Saints assistant for Falcons staff.
Raheem Morris is still rounding out his staff. The Falcons hired DJ Williams from the Saints as an assistant quarterbacks coach, despite being offered a different post in New Orleans.
After a year without a quarterbacks coach, the Falcons will now have T.J. Yates leading the team and Williams assisting.
Furthermore, even though Zac Robinson will be in charge of the entire offense, he is experienced with the position, having played at the top level and coached the Rams quarterbacks in Los Angeles before moving to Atlanta.
Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris take quite different approaches.
DJ Williams, son of Super Bowl champion Doug Williams, has served as an offensive assistant with the Saints since 2019. He began working for the Falcons opponent in 2017, assisting in training camp, before joining football operations in 2018.
Raheem Morris is clearly intent on assembling the greatest coaching staff around whichever quarterback the Falcons end up acquiring. Even better, it came at the Saints’ expense.
Terry Fontenot talks change in Falcons power structure
The Falcons’ hunt for a new head coach centered on the organization’s power structure.
Bill Belichick’s candidacy was met head on by Arthur Blank’s closest advisers. The former Patriots head coach enjoyed unlimited liberty in New England and demanded the same in Atlanta.
Rich McKay was in the center of the action, and he was described as a source of trouble for Belichick due to their turbulent history. There were rumors and whispers of internal opposition to Blank’s choice to hire Belichick, but they were quashed after Raheem Morris’ second interview.
The Falcons passed on Bill Belichick after Blank recognized it would necessitate cleaning house to create place for Belichick’s people in the front office, coaching staff, and football operations. What was interesting about the hire was that the team’s statement contained a shift in power structure.
Instead of Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris reporting to Rich McKay as the prior regime had, the head coach and general manager will report directly to Arthur Blank, as McKay was moved out of football operations.
Falcons supporters reacted enthusiastically on social media, but I remained cautious. This is exactly what we were told when Arthur Smith and Fontenot were hired, then three years later we discovered that McKay was highly involved in day-to-day operations, so I don’t see why Falcons supporters should trust the organization now.
Regardless, the power system remains problematic, in my opinion. Arthur Blank is once again meddling and getting too close to football operations. He’s not making decisions, but he’d be foolish to believe that he isn’t influencing them, even subconsciously.
During Raheem Morris’ first press conference, Terry Fontenot began with a monologue about why he was not at the press conference following Arthur Smith’s firing, his role in the search for a head coach, and the organization’s power structure; the most of it felt like a PR job. Here’s what he said about the final segment.
I’m cautiously hopeful about the Falcons’ path under Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot. I refuse to get my hopes up, however. The same guys, Arthur Blank and Rich McKay, remain in control. Expecting a different outcome would be somewhat foolish. Now, if Blank will allow Morris and Fontenot do their jobs, I might start forecasting Super Bowls.
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