Jaguars Head Coaching Search: The Pros and Cons Of Raheem Morris's Potential Fit
The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the precipice of hiring a new head coach, one the franchise hopes can turn around fortunes and help bring the city hope.
Names have abounded in recent days, but the list has been whittled down to a few men. Each have their strengths as well as their weaknesses. We examine the pros and cons that come with each coach and their potential impact on the Jaguars.
In this edition, we look at Atlanta Falcons interim head coach and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who reported interviewed with the Jaguars earlier this week.
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Background
- Hofstra (1998) : Graduate assistant
- Cornell (1999): Defensive backs coach & special teams assistant
- Hofstra (2000–2001): Defensive backs coach
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002): Defensive quality control coach
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003): Defensive assistant
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2004–2005): Assistant defensive backs coach
- Kansas State (2006): Defensive coordinator
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007–2008): Defensive backs coach
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–2011): Head coach
- Washington Football Team (2012–2014): Defensive backs coach
- Atlanta Falcons (2015): Assistant head coach & defensive backs coach
- Atlanta Falcons (2016–2018): Assistant head coach & wide receivers coach
- Atlanta Falcons (2019): Assistant head coach & secondary coach
- Atlanta Falcons (2020): Defensive coordinator
- Atlanta Falcons (2020): Interim head coach
You won't find many coaches this cycle with the background that Raheem Morris has. He has a long and extensive history as a coach at both the NFL and college level, though the vast majority of his time in the coaching ranks has come at the pro level.
Morris was a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers club in 2002 when they defeated the Oakland Raiders for the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl. He then continued to climb the ladder until he became Ron Prince's defensive coordinator at Kansas State for a season, leading a unit that allowed 23.8 points per game.
Morris came back to Tampa Bay and was set to be the team's defensive coordinator in 2009, but the team then made the move to fire head coach John Gruden. Morris would serve as the in-house replacement for Gruden, being named head coach and then leading the Bucs on the field for three years.
Morris went 3-13 in his first season as head coach before leading Tampa Bay to a 10-6 record in 2010. The Buccaneers fell to a 4-12 record in 2011, however, leading to Morris's firing at the end of the season.
Since then Morris has spent most of his time with the Atlanta Falcons, serving on the team's staff in 2016 when they advanced to Super Bowl LI. Following the firing of head coach Dan Quinn, the Falcons named Morris his interim replacement.
Pros
Considering how often the Falcons floundered defensively under Dan Quinn in 2020, it is impressive that Morris was able to more or less turn the unit into a respectable group once he took over for the final 11 games of the season. The Falcons finished No. 14 overall in defensive DVOA after coming in at No. 17 the year before, and this included a No. 6 DVOA ranking in terms of run defense in 2020.
The Falcons didn't have a star-studded defense, nor one that was even better than average in most areas, but it was a solid unit considering the 0-5 start to the season and the defensive failures of past seasons. Morris deserves a lot of credit for this considering his placement at head coach over Quinn was the lone major change. A 4-7 record to end the season isn't great, but it is better than the 0-5 start.
There is also the fact that Morris has head coach experience. A lot of the top names this cycle, such as Brian Daboll, Arthur Smith, and Eric Bieniemy, are good candidates but have never been head coaches. Morris, meanwhile, has 59 games of regular season experience as a head coach. He has been the head of a program two different times, albeit the second time was as an interim head coach. His success at the position has been questionable, but if the Jaguars want someone who isn't a first-time head coach, then Morris fits the bill.
Finally, Morris has a long record as a respected leader. There is little question he could walk into a young Jaguars' locker room and immediately establish a new culture at TIAA Bank Field, something the Jaguars desperately need. He is a true players coach.
Cons
The biggest drawback? The fact that Morris isn't an offensive mind. The Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick and have already essentially said it will be used on a quarterback. As a result, the Jaguars need to ensure they give that quarterback the proper infrastructure, support, and mentorship.
Morris would undoubtedly be a good resource in terms of mentorship and teaching how to lead, but it is understandable if the Jaguars want a coach with experience developing quarterbacks as their next head coach. The Jaguars need to simply find the best head coach possible, but they also need to consider the fact that their most important player is set to be a rookie quarterback. This works against Morris.
There are also likely going to be fans wary of the results of Morris in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers won 10 games in his second season, but he finished with a 17-31 record (.354%) after three seasons. This is too close to the 12-36 record the Jaguars compiled in the last three seasons of the Doug Marrone era to inspire much confidence. This was a decade ago and Morris has likely learned much, much more about the role since then, but it needs to be considered.
Finally, as unfair as it may be to Morris, would he be a hire that satisfies a fan base that badly needs some hope and positive momentum? He is a good coach, but the Jaguars as an organization have used up all of their goodwill tokens with the fan base in recent years. This isn't to say any hire should be based on the feelings of fans, of course, but Morris would be the type of unexciting hire that would likely be tough to sell on fans, much like Marrone was in 2017.
