Raheem Morris on Possible Staff Changes on Falcons Special Teams: 'Irrelevant'

The Atlanta Falcons are 4-9 and have cemented an eighth straight losing season and an eighth straight season without making the NFL Playoffs.

While there are plenty of fingers to point, one of the easiest ones is to point at the Falcons' woeful special teams. They're 24th in field goal percentage, 28th in yards per punt return, and dead last in kick returns.

They're also dead last in kickoff coverage at 31.2 yards per return against. To put that in perspective, the LA Chargers are 31st at 28.7 yards per return. With a difference of 2.5 yards per return, the Chargers are closer to 20th than the Falcons are to climbing out of last place.

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 hidden yardage can be the difference in a league that frequently comes down to games decided in the fourth quarter. Because of their poor kicking units, both return and coverage, the Falcons are 30th in average starting field position on offense, and they are 26th in the NFL in opponents' average starting position.

Despite problems in all phases of special teams, coordinator Marquice Williams continues to lead the unit. Head coach Raheem Morris has been asked several times about making changes. Two weeks ago, he bristled at the question. After Sunday's loss to the Seahawks, in which the Falcons had a field goal blocked, sent a kickoff out of bounds, and gave up a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Morris blamed personnel.

Asked again on Monday as the Falcons prepare for the 7-6, NFC South-leading Buccaneers, Morris doubled down on players being responsible for the ineptitude.

“Staff changes right now is irrelevant," Morris said on Monday. "You always want to go across and you're always going to have to evaluate everything at the end of the season. You know, we’ve got to go out there and cover kicks. We’ve got to go out there and block and protect. We’ve got to go out there and do all the things that we're capable of doing. We’ve got people that know how to do it. We’ve got people that know what to do, and we’ve got to execute. That is the part that's driving me nuts, the execution part.”

Finding the right people and putting them in the right situation to succeed is the recipe for any winning organization. One or both of those ingredients have failed miserably for the Falcons. Atlanta's special teams were bad last year under Williams, and they've gotten worse in 2025, despite heavy investments, according to Morris.

The Falcons Podcast: Spotify | Apple Pods | WATCH

“The hard part for us is we dedicate so much time and people into special teams, right?" Morris asked rhetorically. "We have people on our roster that are strictly dedicated to it. We went out and got these people. We sought them out. We found them. We put them on our grass. We put them on our football team, and they're out there to make those plays, and we’ve got to make them.

"There's no excuses for that. There's no better way to put it other than frustration, to be absolutely 100% with you. Those are frustrating plays, particularly when they happen in games like that, in moments like that, when you’ve got a chance to win, got a chance to at least make it competitive, I should say.”

Morris also said on Monday that he has 100% support from owner Arthur Blank as the Falcons close out another lost season. But he knows that his special teams unit could be the difference between him being the Atlanta Falcons coach in 2026 or not.

And that's not irrelevant.