Key Atlanta Falcons Assistant Set to Join Raheem Morris, San Francisco 49ers

Former Atlanta Falcons assistant coach Jerry Gray is joining ex-head coach Raheem Morris in San Francisco on Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers’ staff. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the 63-year-old veteran assistant is set to replace Daniel Bullocks, who left for the Green Bay Packers.

Gray was an assistant coach for the Falcons over the last three years, also serving as a defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills. He was a well-respected member of the coaching staff in Atlanta, and he will provide Morris with a familiar face in San Francisco.

The Falcons Podcast: Spotify | Apple Pods | WATCH

“I call him what the players call him, OG,” Morris said about Gray on October 9th. “He’s been around a lot of football. And OG has been around long before me, long before a lot of us. And he's been playing this game for a long time. He's a legend in the game to play. He's a legend at Texas. He's been a legend in coaching. He’s been one of those guys that you always looked up to and finally have an opportunity to coach with them.

“You acquire all that knowledge from him. Some stuff that don't even matter what we're doing right now, but he'll bring it up. But he's coached and done a lot of things in his game, and all of those guys got a lot of respect for him along with our coaches. And when he's talking, he's one of the guys you want to listen to and let him finish his points because it's going to come up with some type of relevance at some point.”

This is the second coach that the 49ers reportedly attempted to pry away from Atlanta. They previously requested to speak with secondary coach Justin Hood, but the Falcons blocked the move.

What happens next for the Atlanta Falcons? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Falcons news delivered to your inbox daily!

The veteran coach played eight years in the NFL after being drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Rams in 1985. He also made stops with the Houston Oilers (1992) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1993). After he retired, Gray moved into coaching, starting in college as a defensive backs coach at SMU (1995-06) before joining the Titans in 1997. He helped lead them to a Super Bowl appearance in 1999.

He then moved to Buffalo, where he served as a defensive coordinator for the first time in his career. (2001-05), but moved to the then-Washington Redskins (2006-09) and Seattle Seahawks (2010) as a defensive backs coach.

After his stint in Seattle, Gray got his second opportunity to be a coordinator, moving back to Tennessee (2011-13), but went back to coaching defensive backs. He made stops in Minnesota with the Vikings (2014-19) and Green Bay with the Packers (2020-22) before landing in Atlanta as an assistant head coach under Morris.