Colts' 2023 Head Coach Candidate: Raheem Morris
The Indianapolis Colts enter the 2023 NFL offseason in need of a new head coach. Former Head Coach Frank Reich did an admirable job in his 4.5 years with the team, leading the Colts to a 40-33-1 record despite having to work with a new starting quarterback every season.
Ultimately, it came time to move on from Reich as the team stagnated and hit a wall under the him in recent seasons. While the Colts may not be the greatest destination across the league, they should be able to generate a decent amount of interest for one of the 32 most coveted positions in the sport.
In this series, I will dive into a handful of the coaching candidates that the Colts could/should interview during their search and break down their background/qualifications for the job. Next up, is Los Angeles Rams' Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris.
Background in the Football
Raheem Morris was a safety at Hofstra University (back when they had a football team) from 1994 to 1997. Unfortunately, he never made it into the NFL as a player, as his long coaching career kicked off immediately after graduating from college.
Coaching Qualifications
Raheem Morris began his coaching career as a grad assistant at his alma mater. He worked in that role for a year at Hofstra before becoming the defensive backs coach at Cornell in 1998. He returned to his alma mater as a defensive backs coach the following season and served in that role until 2001.
In 2002, Morris made the jump to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He debuted as a defensive quality control coach under Jon Gruden, and he won the first of his two Super Bowl rings in the NFL with that team. In working with that team, Morris would go on to form connections to legendary coaches such as Monte Kiffin, Mike Tomlin, and Gus Bradley.
Morris slowly climbed through the ranks with the Buccaneers over the years. He was promoted to defensive assistant in 2003 and then promoted again to assistant defensive backs coach for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He made a quick detour as Kansas State's defensive coordinator in 2006, before returning to the Bucs as a defensive backs coach for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Before the end of the 2008 season, Morris was was promoted for a brief stint as the new defensive coordinator, replacing the recently departed Monte Kiffin (who left to coach at Tennessee University before the end of the season). Morris served in that role until the end of the 2008 year. The Buccaneers then surprised everyone after the season, as Jon Gruden was fired and Morris was named the new head coach as his replacement.
Morris had a bit of a rocky stint as head coach of the Buccaneers. The team was in disarray, and he couldn't do much to fix the turmoil. They finished his first season as a head coach (in 2009) with a 3-13 record. They did manage to go 10-6 the following season with Josh Freeman as the starting quarterback, but the team fell back to 4-12 in 2011. Morris was fired after 2011 with a record of 17-31.
Following this unsuccessful head coaching stint, Morris returned to being a defensive backs coach, this time with the Washington Commanders in 2012. He joined a staff that would feature many future NFL head coaches, including Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay, and Mike McDaniel. Morris served in this role from 2012 until 2014.
Morris would move on to the Atlanta Falcons in 2015, earning the title of Assistant Head Coach and Passing Game Coordinator. He picked up another job in 2016, as he also became the Falcons' wide receivers coach. He held both of those titles under Head Coach Dan Quinn all the way up until the 2019 season.
Dan Quinn started the 2020 season with the Falcons with an 0-5 record. The Falcons' ultimately decided to fire him after that poor start, and Morris was named as the interim head coach. Morris performed admirably in this short stint, leading the winless Falcons to a respectable 4-7 final 11 games. He was considered for the full time job after the season, but was passed up in favor of Arthur Smith.
Raheem Morris began his first NFL stint as a defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He had a tall task ahead of him, as he had to blend his Tampa Two roots with the quarters system that Brandon Staley had installed in the previous seasons.
Morris was able to see immediate results in his tenure with the Rams. The team finished 15th in points allowed and 17th in yards allowed in 2021. Morris would go on to win his second Super Bowl ring, with the team's victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Rams as a team took a major step back this past season, and Morris' defense did as well. They finished 22nd in points allowed and 19th in yards allowed in 2022. Still, Morris is a well respected leader that had his team playing hard until the very end in a lost 2022 season.
Potential Staff Connections
Morris has been coaching around the NFL since 2002, so he has quite a few more connections compared to other candidates in this series. Still, here are a few that could make sense for him. The * marks coaches that he'd likely look to bring with him as coordinators.
Offensive Coordinator
Brian Griese, San Francisco 49ers QB Coach: Played under Morris with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004-2005.
Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos Former Head Coach: Offensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2006-2007.
Bobby Slowik*, San Francisco 49ers Passing Game Coordinator: Defensive assistant with the Washington Commanders from 2011-2013.
Shane Day, Los Angeles Chargers QB Coach: Assistant offensive line coach for the Washington Commanders in 2014.
Justin Outten, Denver Broncos Offensive Coordinator: Offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons from 2016-2018.
Zac Robinson*, Los Angeles Rams Passing Game Coordinator: Currently working alongside Morris with the Rams.
Defensive Coordinator
Gus Bradley*, Indianapolis Colts Defensive Coordinator: LB Coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2006-2008.
Todd Wash, Detroit Lions Defensive Line Coach: DL Coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2008-2010.
Joe Woods, Cleveland Browns Former Defensive Coordinator: Defensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004-2005.
Ejiro Evero*, Denver Broncos Defenisve Coordinator: Defensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2007-2009.
Joe Whitt Jr, Dallas Cowboys Secondary Coach: Secondary coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.
Eric Henderson*, Los Angeles Rams Defensive Line Coach: Currently working alongside Morris with the Rams.
The Bottom Line
Retread head coaching candidates are hardly exciting, but Raheem Morris is more than worthy of getting another shot as a head coach. He has impressed as a defensive coordinator at his last two spots, and his experience should come in handy in building a quality staff.
Morris wouldn't be my top option in this cycle, but I would fully support him getting the job.
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