Vikings request to interview Raheem Morris for head coaching job

In Monday night’s wild-card game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Angeles Rams put together one of the best defensive performances you’ll ever see in the first half. Raheem Morris was the brains behind that showing, calling an excellent game as the defensive coordinator.

It’s probably not a coincidence that he’s now drawing head coaching interest from the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday morning. As first reported by Peter Schrager of NFL Network, the Vikings have requested to interview Morris for their head coach opening. The Vikings fired Mike Zimmer this month after another disappointing year and are now searching for his replacement.

Morris has previous head coaching experience in the NFL, though he didn’t have much success in his previous stints. He was the Buccaneers’ head coach from 2009-2011, going 17-31 in that span. He took over as the Falcons’ interim head coach in 2020 after Dan Quinn was fired, going 4-7 down the stretch.

Morris is deserving of another chance to lead an NFL team, however. He inherited a Rams defense that ranked first in the league last season and though they’re not No. 1 again this year, the Rams have had some stellar performances on defense.

The Rams allowed the second-fewest touchdown passes and had the third-most interceptions in the NFL, also giving up the fifth-fewest yards per carry on the ground. There were some bumps along the way, but the Rams have given up more than 23 points just once since Week 13.

Morris is the latest Rams assistant to draw interest from other teams, joining Kevin O’Connell and Thomas Brown. O’Connell is also interviewing for the Vikings’ head coaching job, while Brown will meet with the Dolphins for their opening.

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Rams PFF grades: Best and worst performers in wild-card win vs. Cardinals