After weeks of interviews and speculation that come with every new head coaching search, the Atlanta Falcons finally settled on Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. And yes, “settled” seems like the appropriate word for the hire.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Falcons were said to have conducted some 14 interviews in hopes of filling the head coaching vacancy that Arthur Smith left when he was fired some 24 hours after the last regular-season game. Seemingly every name under the sun or that was rumored to be a favorite to be the head coach in the league was interviewed by the Falcons, from Michigan's Jim Harbaugh to former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, among a slew of others. Yet, by the end of the search, which was said to be “extensive,” owner Arthur Blank and general manager Terry Fontenot seemingly went with familiarity to the organization.

Why was Raheem Morris good for the Falcons' job now and not back in 2022?

Just four years ago when the Falcons fired now Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator (for now) Dan Quinn after just five games into his sixth season, they replaced him for the rest of the season with Raheem Morris, who was the then-defensive coordinator for Atlanta.

After going 4-2 in his first six games as the interim coach, rumors were that the Falcons could make Morris the permanent head coach. But then Morris and the Falcons lost their last five games, and Blank quickly went into rebuilding most of the entire organization, starting from the inside out, including finding a new head coach.

Morris was interviewed back in 2020, maybe if for nothing else as a courtesy, and that of appeasing the NFL Rooney Rule. But the Falcons instead went on to hire one of the hotter names among up-and-coming coaches in Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

Unlike in 2020, when the Falcons at least attempted to go with someone who was up-and-coming in the league, who could have been one of the next best head coaches in the league, they instead went this time with a more or less retread option that barely had any sort of success in his last stint as a head coach.

Morris was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach from 2009 until 2011. In those three seasons, he went a dismal 17-31 (.356) with one winning season in his second year, going 10-6, although still missing the playoffs, according to Pro-Football-Reference. And as mentioned, his short stint as the interim with the Falcons in 2022 went well below .500, going 4-7.

Like with most openings across the NFL, coordinators with recent success are usually given first looks when acquiring new head coaches, which Morris did have. In 2021, he helped the Rams win a Super Bowl, with a defense that ranked in the top half of the league in scoring defense, allowing just 21.9 points per game.

The 2022 season was a different story, however, but the Rams struggled overall, not just defensively. In 2023, Morris helped deliver a much younger defense that finished 20th in yards allowed (337.9 yards per game) and 18th in scoring defense (22.3 points per game), that helped get the Rams back into the postseason. That apparently was enough for the Falcons to decide on making him their 15th head coaching hire.

There are no certainties in anything, especially in the NFL and head coaches. Morris very well could be the best coach the Falcons have ever had when it's all said and done — which isn't saying much. Historically speaking, head coaches who get second chances are a mixed bag. For every Belichick and Andy Reid, there's a Jack Del Rio and Rex Ryan. But even looking at those as examples, none had the resume of Morris in their first stint.

Raheem Morris' resume didn't warrant another head coaching job

Raheem Morris with head coaching record

Most of the head coaches who get a second chance at the job typically won around 45% of their games in their first chance. Morris doesn't have that. In fact, there's only been a small number of coaches that have gotten a second chance after holding a winning percentage below 45% after their first job, and second attempts usually fared far worse.

Pete Carroll might be the most famous of these and is an exception to this rule. He lasted just one season with the New York Jets in 1994 that ended with a winning percentage of .375. But even in his second job three years later with the Patriots, he finished with a .565 percentage in three years.

There's also Romeo Crennel from 2005-2008 with the Cleveland Browns, who also finished with a .375 winning percentage in his first job. He was much worse afterward with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning just over 20% of his games and was gone after two seasons.

Most recently are Josh McDaniels and Dennis Allen. Somehow after his awful first showing with the Denver Broncos, where he finished winning under 40% of his games in two seasons, he was given another shot with the Las Vegas Raiders years later. He again didn't last a full two seasons and finished with a .360 winning percentage.

Allen actually has a much worse winning percentage than any of them (.222), including Morris, going back to his first head coaching job with the Raiders. However, he is a bit of an outlier considering he was left to take over for Sean Payton in New Orleans when the veteran coach stepped away to take time off. His winning percentage has improved to .471 in two seasons but is most likely on a very short leash next season.

So, what gave the Falcons a reason to believe that Morris was the right fit? Fontenot noted in his press conference how he believes Morris is “the right fit for our team, culture, and shared vision,” (per Falcons Wire) but that still doesn't explain why the former Rams defensive coordinator wasn't any of those things back in 2020. This is not to say that Belichick, who many believed would be the next Falcons head coach as of last week, was the right answer. In fact, I'd argue that Belichick was just behind Morris in the least fitting options for the job. But at least his resume was better.

The Falcons needed an offensive-minded head coach

It's also concerning that the Falcons chose to go after a defensive-minded coach in an offensive-driven league. Not that defensive coaches aren't still proving their worth as a head coach these days — the Texans' DeMeco Ryans comes to mind — it's that with the Falcons needing to either develop Desmond Ridder or a new quarterback that they will select in the draft, hiring an offensive-minded coach seemed the better option. Morris now needs to hit a home run with his offensive coordinator hire.

Raheem Morris was hired for his locker room presence

Overall, Blank and the Falcons' decision seemed to come down to one thing, and that was Morris' locker room presence and ability to bring a team together. That is completely opposite of what former head coach Arthur Smith was able to accomplish, and completely lost the locker room at the end of his tenure, which was one of the many reasons he probably lost his job.

Winning a locker room is one thing; winning games is another. Morris will have to prove he can do both.