Raheem Morris on pressure to win now: You've got to embrace that
Eight teams hired a new head coach this hiring cycle. History says some of those teams will be looking for another head coach a year from now.
Those eight teams hired a new head coach for a reason.
The Falcons hired Raheem Morris because they have had six consecutive losing seasons, including three 7-10 finishes in a row under Arthur Smith. It's why Smith no longer is the head coach.
Morris faces pressure to get it done quickly, and it's a pressure the 47-year-old coach embraces.
"This is what we do," Morris said, via Greg Auman of Fox Sports. "This job comes with pressure, and pressure that we're all built for. You've got to embrace that. You've got to embrace those moments. You have to want those moments. We've got to live for those moments."
Morris was 32 when he got his first head coaching job in 2009. He was fired after a 17-31 record in three seasons with the Buccaneers.
He went 4-7 as the Falcons' head coach in 2020 but didn't get the full-time job as the team instead hired Smith.
This gives him a chance to "rewrite history."
"When you get a chance to go back home in this profession, it is extremely important, extremely critical to everybody involved," Morris said. "That is a special moment, not just for me, but for my family. . . . I can feel the excitement in my texts. I can feel the excitement in phone calls. . . . I can't express the joy that I have right now, to be able to come back and work with all these people around me that I've been with for years. This is certainly the best feeling in the world."
