Sean McVay Believes Raheem Morris Will be in High Demand for Next Season's Head Coaching Cycle
Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has a resume that indicates he could be in line for a head coaching opportunity sooner rather than later. His showing in Super Bowl LVI – holding the Bengals to 20 points, 270 passing yards and 43 rushing yards – should only play into his favor.
Sean McVay, who hired Morris to be his defensive coordinator for the 2021 season after a six-year stint with the Falcons, says his top defensive assistant is primed to be hired in next year's head coaching cycle.
“I mean, if you're looking for a great leader, a great motivator, a great person to be able to inspire and be able to help guys reach their highest potential, bring people together, who also has a great feel for the schematics of the game, Raheem Morris is your guy," McVay told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Morris has once already been a head coach, leading the Buccaneers from 2009-2011. He capped off one 10-win season in 2010, but ultimately finished his three years of steering the ship in Tampa Bay with an overall record of 17-31.
But Morris has since then taken monumental strides as it pertains to his coaching demeanor. Specifically, on the biggest stage of them all: Super Bowl LVI.
“On the last drive, he was trusting his gut,” McVay said via the MMQB. “You end up sending five guys and they obviously hit (Ja’Marr) Chase and then they hit (Tyler) Boyd. I just think his trust and his calm in those moments, the poise showed. And then to be able to have Aaron (Donald) make the third-down stop, then make another critical call on fourth down that ultimately ends up winning the Super Bowl, I think at the most pressure-filled moments is when he was at his calmest and clearest.
“I think that's as good as anything you could say in the midst of a game about a coach.”
During Morris' tenure in Atlanta, he served five different roles. Ranging from being a position coach to finishing his tenure as the interim head coach following Dan Quinn's firing.
But over that stretch, he gathered previous experience in coaching in the Super Bowl. And that prior exposure is something he learned from and taught him a lesson as he and the Rams prepared for the Bengals.
The Falcons' 28-3 blown lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI to end the 2016 season was a gut-punch that still sticks with Morris. But he's turned that loss into a bigger picture. It assisted Morris in using his past experience in a game of the largest magnitude, to guide the Rams defense in an effort of slowing down Joe Burrow and the Bengals' high-octane offense.
Feb 16, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris holds the Vince Lombardi trophy during Super Bowl LVI championship rally at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
“There’s no doubt about it, in those moments, people tend to get tight," Morris said via the MMQB. "And we got tight in Atlanta. We lost that game. We got tight all across the board, whether you wanna say it was on defense, whether you say it was offense, or special teams, we didn’t have the ability to close that game out. I didn’t want these guys to get tight. So when Aaron jumped off that bench, I knew that wasn’t a tight moment—that was a moment where he was ready to just go out there and thrive in the adversity, and go win this football game.
”I don’t think anybody got tight when they took the lead. I don’t think anybody got tight when they got the big play coming out of halftime, right into the interception. Everybody stayed the course. That even keel, that steady feel, credit has to go to Sean McVay and how the team is run. But it definitely was a lesson learned for me going into this game. You wanted to stay the course, and let these guys go out and win the football game.”
Morris was interviewed for the Vikings head coaching vacancy this year, but Minnesota instead hired Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell for the role.
Perhaps another season on the staff of the Rams – assuming the defense remains a notable unit – Morris should see more traction when teams begin the interviewing process for head coaching candidates in 2023.
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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.
