Falcons' Raheem Morris Raves About Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell

Raheem Morris and Kevin O'Connell each coached multiple seasons for the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay. They only crossed paths for one season in Los Angeles, but that one campaign was a special one.

With O'Connell as offensive coordinator and Morris as defensive coordinator, the Rams won the Super Bowl during the 2021 season.

In Week 2 Sunday night, Morris and O'Connell will be on opposite sides as head coaches of the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings, respectively. But they are forever bonded because of the Super Bowl win.

So when asked about O'Connell at his Wednesday press conference, Morris had a lot of positive things to say about the Vikings head coach.

"The person, the human, first and foremost. One of the greatest people in our game - great human, great guy. Smart, sharp, calm under pressure, never lets anything get to him," Morris told reporters. "A cutting edge, always ahead of the game, always ahead of the mark when it comes to those types of things, his ability to relate with anybody on the football team, offense, defense, special teams, whatever the case may be.

"I only worked with him for one year, and it felt like 20."

O'Connell now appears to have a quarterback to match his calm personality. In Week 1, J.J. McCarthy, who was making his first career NFL start, struggled for three quarters versus the Chicago Bears. But McCarthy displayed a lot of poise, playing well when it mattered in the final 15 minutes.

The Vikings scored three touchdowns on their first three possessions of the fourth quarter.

The only time it appeared O'Connell had an increased heart rate Monday night was when he was celebrating following the team's third touchdown to take a late 10-point lead.

"He's got just a cool, calm demeanor about everything that he does," Morris said as he continued on O'Connell. "He'll always be that way, in game, out of the game, after the game, no matter what.

"I’ve got so much respect for Kevin. We won a Super Bowl together. I love that guy.”

O'Connell left the Rams following the February 2022 Super Bowl win and has been Minnesota's head coach since 2022. Morris returned to be Atlanta's head coach beginning in 2024.

Week 2 will be the second time Morris and O'Connell face each other as head coaches. The Vikings knocked off the Falcons 42-21 on December 8 last year.

Similar to Monday night, the Vikings scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn their 2024 matchup with the Falcons into a lopsided affair.

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins was returning to Minnesota for the first time in that showdown. That story dominated the pregame headlines. But the head coaches and the two teams' young signal-callers should be center stage for this year's Falcons-Vikings showdown.

McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. were each part of the same draft class in 2024. Penix went No. 8 to the Falcons while the Vikings moved up a spot to No. 10 to grab McCarthy.