Falcons Hyped as Top NFL Team With New Head Coach

Of all the NFL teams with new head coaches, the Atlanta Falcons, Raheem Morris could be the most successful in 2024.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons will be starting over again with a new head coach during the 2024 season. But that doesn’t mean the team can’t hit the ground running.

In fact, most NFL analysts, including Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton, expect the Falcons to be significantly better immediately with their new coaching staff.

Of the eight organizations who will have new head coaches in 2024, Moton ranked the Falcons as the team with the best chance at making the playoffs this fall.

“The Falcons went 7-10 in three consecutive years with subpar quarterback play, and they addressed the position by signing four-time Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins and drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick in the 2024 draft,” wrote Moton.

“Before the 35-year-old tore his Achilles in Week 8 of the previous campaign, he was performing at a Pro Bowl level. In his last full season, he helped lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 13-4 record.”

Moton hyped Atlanta’s playoff chances in part because of their division.

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“They are in the NFC South, which has been one of the league's weakest divisions over the last two years. In 2022, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won it with a sub-.500 record and claimed the 2023 division title with a 9-8 record.”

Moton’s list only included teams with new head coaches, but ironically, he didn’t mention Raheem Morris as a reason the team was ranked at No. 1 on the list. With Morris, the Falcons also hired Zac Robinson as the organization’s new offensive coordinator. 

Morris and Robinson worked together with the Los Angeles Rams. Maybe more importantly, Robinson coached quarterbacks and wide receivers under Sean McVay for five years.

Kirk Cousins in Robinson’s offense is the main reason to be optimistic about the Falcons this season. But Morris shouldn’t be overlooked either.

He struggled as a young head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009-11. But as interim head coach in Atlanta during 2020, Morris turned a Falcons squad which started 0-5 into a competitive team by Thanksgiving.

Morris holds a 21-38 record in his NFL career as a head coach. The Falcons went 4-7 under his direction at the end of 2020.

NFL analysts may consider the NFC South one of the weaker divisions in the league. But it didn’t help the Carolina Panthers much on Moton’s list.

Moton ranked Carolina’s playoff odds seventh-best among the eight teams with new head coaches. After the Falcons, the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks rounded out the top three on Moton’s list.

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