Making the Case for Raheem Morris in Carolina
The Panthers need a true leader as its next head coach. Someone who has the respect of everyone in the building the second he steps foot in Carolina - a coach that can instill a culture and identity from day one with no questions asked.
My mind immediately jumps to Mike Vrabel, but of course, the Panthers have not brought him in for an interview and it doesn't appear as if they will.
Of those they have interviewed, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris fits that mold. Don't believe me? Here's a few words from Rams GM Les Snead in his exit interview about the type of man/coach Morris is and how he will improve any organization that gives him an opportunity.
"Great human being. The guy is coded to respect everyone, to build a relationship with everyone no matter where you're at in the organization. What's awesome is, as he does that, you just see the respect flow back in his direction. It's a super power that I think would help any organization. I remember when he came here to be our defensive coordinator, having a relationship with (Falcons CEO) Rick McKay, Rich said, wow, what a unique football acumen that he has. He's coached in the defensive room, he's coached in an offensive room. Whether he was a mentee learning or mentoring and leading others, those great Tampa defenses and those great Atlanta offenses that nearly pulled off a Super Bowl win - he was in those offensive rooms, defensive rooms. There's not many coaches on the planet that have been in both of those rooms.
"He's going to give any organization an edge in just how collaborative he is. It's going to be an edge that most teams aren't going to be able to compete with. I know this, he will be able to hire an unbelievable staff. Every coach who is any good, who is qualified, they're going to want to work for Raheem. And I'm pretty sure there are going to be tampering charges because just about every player in the NFL is going to text him and want to come play for him."
Former Rams corner Jalen Ramsey, now with the Miami Dolphins, saw the Snead video and also vouched for Morris.
Morris has an extensive defensive background but he has coached both sides of the ball and has been a head coach before - a job that he maybe wasn't quite ready for in his early 30s. Obviously, there would still be a lot of question marks about the offensive philosophy but as Snead pointed out, there will be a lot of guys that want to go coach for him.
If you hire a first-time head coach, there's a lot or risk that comes with that. Morris knows exactly what he would be getting himself into and because he can draw back on those past experiences in Tampa and when he was the interim in Atlanta, he'll be well-prepared.
If there truly is that strong of a belief that coaches and players will want to come to Carolina with Morris, it lessens the anxiety in regards to figuring out the offense. If you get quality people in the building, both on the field and the sideline there's a good chance that issue will be resolved.
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