Raheem Morris explains Falcons’ decision to trade QB Desmond Ridder

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on Ridder trade: “Desmond was a great kid and he did not come to us and demand a trade or anything”

The 2023 season was a major disappointment for the Atlanta Falcons, but things might have gone differently had former head coach Arthur Smith gone in another direction at quarterback. The team went into the season with second-year QB Desmond Ridder and the results weren’t pretty.

In Ridder’s defense, he probably shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Smith stubbornly sat the young quarterback in the preseason and then went back and forth between Ridder and Taylor Heinicke despite insisting he wouldn’t play “musical chairs.”

The Falcons replaced Smith with Raheem Morris in the offseason and the first thing he did was sign free-agent QB Kirk Cousins. The team then traded Ridder to the Arizona Cardinals for wide receiver Rondale Moore.

Morris told reporters at the NFL owners meeting that Ridder did not demand a trade and that the team simply had a chance to add some speed at receiver.

“Desmond was a great kid and he did not come to us and demand a trade or anything,” said Morris. “He was in working out, doing the things he was supposed to do. The opportunity presented for us to add speed.”

A fresh start was probably the best thing for both parties. Ridder is a better fit for Arizona’s scheme than he would have been in Atlanta with offensive coordinator Zac Robinson taking over.

The former third-round pick will get a chance to sit and learn behind Cardinals QB Kyler Murray this season. Ridder went 8-9 in his 17 starts with the Falcons, passing for 3,544 yards, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 84.1.

WATCH: Falcons coach Raheem Morris on Kirk Cousins’ fit in Atlanta

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on Kirk Cousins signing: “I just thought it was an outstanding match for us”

Upon being hired by the Atlanta Falcons, head coach Raheem Morris wisely prioritized the quarterback position above all others. On the opening day of the 2024 league year, the Falcons signed QB Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.

Morris understands how tough it is to find a quarterback in this league and his familiarity with Cousins made Atlanta a good fit for both parties.

Washington drafted Cousins in 2012 when Morris was on the staff along with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Packers head coach Matt LeFleur and Rams coach Sean McVay.

On Tuesday, Morris was interviewed on the Pat McAfee and explained why Cousins is a good fit in Atlanta. “I knew Kirk from when he was a rookie when I was in DC with those guys and Sean coached him,” said Morris.

“I’ve been around this guy for a very long time — had a real familiarity with his ability to do what he can do and I just thought it was an outstanding match for us,” Morris concluded.

Cousins is a more seasoned passer than any QB the Falcons have started over the last two seasons. His presence will help the team utilize its many offensive weapons, including Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson.

Dennis Allen doesn’t understand the Saints-Falcons rivalry, but Raheem Morris does

Dennis Allen doesn’t understand the Saints-Falcons rivalry, but Raheem Morris sure does. Atlanta’s new head coach said Tuesday: “I have hated the Saints for a long time”

It’s really unfortunate that Dennis Allen still doesn’t understand the New Orleans Saints’ rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons, but his new opponent Raheem Morris sure does. Atlanta’s new head coach offered a very different perspective from Allen on his team’s relationship with its oldest rival.

“I have hated the Saints for a long time,” Morris told The Athletic’s Josh Kendall at NFL owners meetings on Tuesday. “Started back with Sean Payton. I was hanging out at the pool the other day with Dennis Allen. I hate him just as much.”

Allen, of course, embarrassed Saints fans by apologizing for his players going rogue to run up to the score on the Falcons in the final game of their 2023 season. The man he apologized to, former Atlanta coach Arthur Smith, was dismissed from his post just hours later. And Allen’s own players have voiced their disapproval of his actions — Cameron Jordan said the only thing they should have said sorry for was not scoring even more points.

Still, Morris acknowledged that it’s all in good fun. These rivalries add passion to the game and drive competition. Even if it’s a real visceral, bone-deep hatred, it’s important for those involved to express some passion.

“It’s a fun rivalry though. It’s really fun,” Morris grinned. “I really don’t hate those guys.” Even if he’s just playing the part, at least Morris is acknowledging it’s a role he’s supposed to play. Allen hasn’t yet grasped that concept.

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Fantasy football reaction: 2024 NFL coaching changes recap

A fantasy football response to all of the coaching changes around the NFL.

Six of the eight new NFL head coaches are from the defensive side of the ball, which makes their choices at offensive coordinator that much more important. The two head men with a background coaching the offense — Dave Canales and Brian Callahan — both intend to call plays in addition to being their respective team’s final decision maker.

We’ll focus mostly on offensive changes for two primary factors: Fantasy defenses typically are interchangeable week to week and aren’t nearly as consequential, and defensive fantasy production tends to be far more personnel-driven than schematic success, outside of a few proven systems.

2024 Atlanta Falcons coaching staff: Tracking each hire

2024 Atlanta Falcons coaching staff: Tracking every hire under head coach Raheem Morris

The Atlanta Falcons took their time to find the right head coach, eventually landing on Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris for the vacancy. Morris, 47, has a wealth of experience coaching for a handful of teams, including the Falcons from 2015-2020.

Since hiring Morris, the Falcons have filled out most of their coaching staff, including all three coordinator positions and several assistants. Check out every member of the team’s 2024 coaching staff below.

Top 3 fantasy impacts from coaching changes

Change can be a good thing, even in the first season

One of the more underrated and hard-to-calculate impacts on teams is when they choose to change their coaching staff. It may be a clean sweep or just a coordinator or two, but it does change how the offense works. Add in the change in player personnel and an offense may drastically differ from one season to the next.

2024 is yet another season of change. To date, we have eight new head coaches (1 in 4), 14 new offensive coordinators and 15 new defensive coordinators – nearly half of the league. To further show how much change is always in play, consider that only three offensive coordinators have been in that role for more than two years.

Basically, every three years there’s been an almost clean sweep of coordinators. Some are released and accept position coaching jobs elsewhere or a lucky few (or this year eight) step up into head coaching roles on the premise that success at one level means success at the next, however incorrect that typically proves.

Let’s take a quick look at the three teams that will have the best shot at a positive impact on fantasy football from their changes.

Atlanta Falcons

2023 Atlanta team rankings

ATL RUN Rank RYD Rank RTD Rank PASS Rank Rank PYDS Rank PTD Rank
QB 69 12 323 11 6 5 528 25 326 3753 22 17 26
RB 450 1 1840 4 8 17 124 6 88 751 4 6 5
WR 209 32 124 1650 32 4 32
TE 174 3 114 1380 1 7 10

Arthur Smith was the head coach for the last three seasons and each time the Falcons ended 7-10. They’ve had seven wins in five of their last six years, so there’s been no progress since 2017.  They’ve been below average with the pass and it worsened after Matt Ryan left in 2022. The overall stats from the running game were very good – Top-5 in almost every category. But the inability to pass the ball left the Falcons unable to keep up with most opponents. Today’s NFL may be pass-happy, but the Falcons never got that memo rated No. 32 dead last in every wide receiver measurement.

2023 Atlanta player stats

POS 2023 FALCONS GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS CMP PYDS PTD FF pts
QB Desmond Ridder 15 53 193 5 388 249 2836 12 239.1
RB Bijan Robinson 17 214 976 4 86 58 487 4 252.3
RB Tyler Allgeier 17 186 683 4 23 18 193 1 135.6
TE Kyle Pitts 17 1 -4 0 90 53 667 3 137.3
TE Jonnu Smith 15 1 0 0 70 50 582 3 126.2
WR Drake London 16 0 0 0 110 69 905 2 171.5

The lack of success passing to wide receivers was egregious since they drafted Drake London (1.08) as the first wideout selected in 2022. They made Kyle Pitts (1.04) the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history.  Then they made Bijan Robinson (1.08) the top running back selected in 2023. That’s expensive draft capital for elite stars. The offense has three skill players who were the best in their position coming out of college.

But the frustration for fantasy owners, and to a lesser degree Falcon fans, was Arthur Smith’s insistence to mix-and-match with running backs and tight ends, and not throw much to his star wideout. Robinson came out of Texas as the consummate workhorse back. But he only ranked No. 19 in carries despite playing in all 17 games.

Kyle Pitts opened with 1,026 yards as a rookie but disappointed the last two years. He injured his PCL and MCL in 2022 and was still trying to get past that last year. But Arthur Smith’s offense took three collegiate superstars and seemingly underused each. Or maybe relying on the third-round quarterback was complicit in the disappointment.

New: HC Raheem Morris, OC Zac Robinson

New head coach Raheem Morris was primarily a defensive coordinator for the Rams these last three years, and he was the head coach for the Buccaneers in 2009-2011 when that team went 3-13, 10-6, and 4-12. Those were the first three years for Josh Freeman at quarterback, the start of LeGarrette Blount, the disappointment of Kellen Winslow, and a few years of Mike Williams (the first one, not the current Charger) playing over his head.

But that was a decade ago. Morris was most recently directing the Rams defense including during their 2021 Super Bowl win. He tabbed Zac Robinson as the new offensive coordinator and he was the QB coach for the Rams these last three years, and their WR coach in 2020. So he has Sean McVay for an influence and more excitedly, has been immersed in the Rams’ passing game for the last four years. Granted, he didn’t make Matthew Stafford, but he’s been involved with one of the better passing offenses.

The talent is here. There is star power at every skill position other than quarterback which the Falcons are sure to address this year. Adding in their above-average offensive line and there’s the potential for major fantasy points if Robinson can get the right quarterback and optimize the talent in receivers and rushers that the Falcons already possess. It is promising that this run-first offense can change to make better use of all players and pump up the passing game that languished with Desmond Ridder and play calling that left the offense far too conservative.

Los Angeles Chargers

2023 Los Angeles Chargers team rankings

LAC RUN Rank RYD Rank RTD Rank PASS Rank CMP PYDS Rank PTD Rank
QB 79 10 372 8 4 9 630 3 408 4263 10 23 19
RB 327 27 1135 32 7 25 94 19 67 515 19 1 25
WR 386 3 251 2933 8 15 18
TE 132 8 90 854 18 8 9

This team is a little harder to unwind and determine exactly where they are at in terms of players and talent. The passing offense threw a lot of passes thanks to their own defense constantly giving up points to the opposition and turning most games into aerial war as the Chargers tried to catch up. What was odd last year was that they were the worst in the NFL in rushing yards, despite employing OC Kellen Moore who directed the No. 1 backfield in Dallas in 2022.

The failures of the Chargers were related to several key injuries that stripped the passing game of their usual production and the rushing effort hadn’t been that much anyway, but the backfield ended up with the worst rushing yardage in the NFL and then shockingly fell from being No. 1 in all categories pertaining to running back receiving to only 19th in receptions and yards to the position and only one receiving touchdown. The Chargers fell from 10-7 in 2022 to only 5-12.

2023 Chargers player stats

POS 2023 CHARGERS GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS CMP PYDS PTD FF pts
QB Justin Herbert 13 52 228 3 456 297 3134 20 277.5
RB Austin Ekeler 14 179 628 5 74 51 436 1 193.4
TE Gerald Everett 15 3 10 0 70 51 411 3 111.1
WR Keenan Allen 13 2 6 0 150 108 1243 7 274.9
WR Joshua Palmer 10 1 6 0 61 38 581 2 108.7
WR Quentin Johnston 17 3 9 0 67 38 431 2 94
WR Mike Williams 3 1 3 0 26 19 249 1 50.2

The offense underperformed across the board. There was a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore and that may partially explain why the free-fall drop in passing to running backs, but the entire offense struggled with injuries to the point that almost none of the original starters remained by season’s end.  Newly drafted wideout Quentin Johnson (1.21) was the second wideout drafted last April but was a bust as a rookie and yet the only skill player that did not miss any games.

Keenan Allen performed as well as ever until his heel injury. Mike Williams was lost almost immediately to a torn ACL. The biggest head-scratcher on the team was Austin Ekeler whose rapid decline gutted the offensive punch, particularly while they kept losing receivers. Both Ekeler and  Josh Kelley are free agents, so a makeover in the backfield is possible.

New: HC Jim Harbaugh, OC Greg Roman

Outgoing head coach  Brandon Staley was not popular. And the impact of a coach that lost the locker room cannot be understated. He was released during the season and the Chargers sputtered to a five-game losing streak to end the year. The Chargers failed expectations in every category, from a  defense that became a major liability, to a passing game that lost nearly every player along the way, to a disgruntled running back playing behind a bad offensive line and ruining whatever goodwill he had created as a top back for a few years.

Harbaugh comes in having been a head coach for the last 20 years between college stints in San Diego, Stanford, and most recently Michigan, plus four seasons leading the 49ers (2011-2014). He was never worse than 8-8 in San Francisco and three years featured at least 11 wins including 2012 when he lost the Super Bowl to the Ravens.

The ex-quarterback has his imprint on all facets of the team including the offense, though new OC Greg Roman will run the offense. Harbaugh’s time with the 49ers included seasons with Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, and late-career Anquan Boldin.

Roman brings extensive experience as an offensive coordinator. He was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers during Harbaugh’s four-year tenure there. He held the same position for the Bills (2015-2016) and was last with the Ravens for the last six years, including  three as their offensive coordinator. He stepped down after the 2022 season and now switches brothers since he coached with John Harbaugh in Baltimore and now moves to Los Angeles to rejoin Jim Harbaugh.

He spent three years with Lamar Jackson and tried to improve him as a passer while not losing the special things he did as a rusher. That had mixed results and Todd Monken stepped in as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator with better results in 2023. But Jackson is singular in the NFL, and the offense was devoted to finding how best to use him. It is notable that under Roman in Baltimore that they always employed a committee backfield with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards (to name but two).

But in his time in San Francisco, Roman used Frank Gore as a 250+ carry back. He again had a rushing quarterback in Kaepernick but won’t have that facet to explore with Justin Herbert who returns from a broken finger but hasn’t been that much of a rusher. Herbert will be the best passer that he’s worked with.

Roman relied on Michael Crabtree heavily, as well as tight end Vernon Davis. What the offseason has to determine is what the backfield will be. It could be an all-new set of starters and unless one clearly outplays the others, a committee will almost certainly be relied on. Roman has been tied to two rushing quarterbacks but overall, he tries to optimize that the offense can do given the players. That advanced the 49ers to a Super Bowl in the past.

This team will probably be undervalued with the changes this year, but Justin Herbert brings elite passing into the equation and that always is a difference-maker.

Tennessee Titans

2023 Tennessee team rankings

TEN RUN Rank RYD Rank RTD Rank PASS Rank CMP PYDS Rank PTD Rank
QB 47 23 152 26 2 20 490 32 302 3498 25 12 31
RB 383 9 1631 11 14 7 106 10 80 599 14 1 23
WR 272 28 158 2262 24 10 24
TE 98 23 65 649 26 2 28

The six-year reign of HC Mike Vrabel wound down with a 6-11 record with a defense that was always capable and often elite if only occasionally. But his offenses were always among the most conservative in the NFL with a great offensive line and a top-notch rushing offense. The Titans have not ranked highly in passing stats for many years and their identity has long been about defense and a sound run game regardless of the direction of the rest of the league.

They threw the fewest passes of any NFL team (302) and only managed 12 passing scores. They were unable to retake leads when they fell behind from the inability to compete through the air. That was challenge enough, but a rushing game that had been elite became average despite being No. 9 in rushing attempts. The offensive line that was once an apex blocking unit declined to being one of the worst.

With no real reason to expect a turnaround from the progressively worse team, they let Vrabel go.

2023 Titans player stats

POS 2023 TITANS GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS CMP PYDS PTD FF pts
QB Will Levis 9 25 57 1 255 149 1808 8 134.1
RB Derrick Henry 17 280 1167 12 36 28 214 0 238.1
RB Tyjae Spears 17 100 453 2 70 52 385 1 153.8
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo 17 2 6 0 77 54 528 1 113.4
WR DeAndre Hopkins 17 2 9 0 137 75 1057 7 223.6

The Titans started the season with Ryan Tannehill but he injured his ankle so they finished with 2.02 pick Will Levis as hopefully the next franchise quarterback and maybe one that might reach the lofty heights of being average as a Titan pass thrower.

Levis inherited a below-average batch of receivers, with 2022 rookie Treylon Burk (1.18) disappointing as did most rookie wideouts that year, despite being the heir-apparent to A.J. Brown. Burks underwhelmed again this year with only 16 catches in nine games. DeAndre Hopkins was the big acquisition and he did manage to clip 1,000 yards and score seven times to dominate the receiving but that was just three 100-yard performances and mostly moderate yardage and no score.

Henry had been a 1,500-yard rusher during most of Vrabel’s regime but he was injured in 2021, bounced back in 2022 (349-1538-13) and then slipped back to only 1,167 yards on 280 runs while never missing a game. Henry is a free agent this season and is expected to move on.  Ryan Tannehill is also past his contract.

New: HC Brian Callahan

If you want a sign of change, look no further than new HC Brian Callahan. Under Mike Vrabel, the Titans wanted to win by running all over their opponent and then dominating with their defense. The upgrade to DeAndre Hopkins was needed and prevented the Titans’ passing game from dropping to historic lows. But Will Levis returns for his second season and this will be an entirely new offense and not just because Derrick Henry will be gone from the first time since 2016.

Callahan has been the offensive coordinator for the Bengals for the last five years. He was a QB coach for the Raiders and Lions for three years prior to landing in Cincinnati. His resume is all about passing offenses including all four seasons with Joe Burrow who has been a 4,500-yard, 35-touchdown quarterback when healthy.

Granted, Burrow was the 1.01 pick of 2020 and entered the league as the most coveted quarterback. Will Levis was the fourth quarterback selected last year but it isn’t entirely fair to evaluate him in the context of that conservative and marginally talented passing offense he had as a rookie. As with any team, the next year is all about who they keep and who they acquire.

Tyjae Spears showed some promise last season and is the apparent No. 1 back in Tennessee barring any player moves. The ex-Tulane back was the fifth running back selected (3.18), so he may have higher upside with Derrick Henry all but gone. The offensive line did no favors last year and would need to see improvement.

Callahan will get whatever he can from Levis who has  32-year-old DeAndre Hopkins in his final contract year and Treylon Burks who entered the  league as a coveted 6-3 receiver out of Arkansas who may be better than expected. He had injury issues and played in arguably one of the worst passing offenses in the league. That gets an upgrade from Callahan importing his effective passing offense from Cincy.

There’s plenty of changes on the team left to witness and that could have major impact. But the tougher challenge from a fantasy perspective is trying to unlearn just how conservative and Derrick Henry-centric the Titans have been, and rethink what the Titans can be.

Did the Commanders offer Raheem Morris the head coaching job?

The Commanders loved Quinn all along, but did have serious interest in others, too.

There is more discussion claiming the Commanders settled for Dan Quinn.

On Tuesday, Dan Patrick and his guest, Albert Breer, a senior NFL reporter for Monday Morning Quarterback, joined the list.

Patrick inquired as to what transpired with the Commanders being the last vacancy filled for this 2024 cycle.

The Commanders want a strong, durable general manager for the next decade, and the Harris group firmly believes Adam Peters is that guy. Consequently, Breer began explaining to Patrick this is why Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel did not fit into the structure the Commanders currently desire. (How Mike Florio had been so insistent the Commanders wanted Bill Belichick remains unknown.)

Breer continued, “They wanted to be wide open about their process, so they had Zoom interviews with I believe, eight candidates. They brought seven of them back for in-person interviews, and they wanted to be open-minded about it.”

Then Breer divulged, “Raheem Morris almost got the job two weeks ago. The Falcons gave him an offer that made the Commanders really think.”

Breer expressed the Commanders then determined, “No, we really want to finish our process. We want to meet with everybody.”

“They were obviously interested in meeting with Ben Johnson. Um, that didn’t go so well (as Breer chuckled) on Monday as they got the news (from Johnson).”

“Then the final two were Mike Macdonald and Dan Quinn, and Seattle swooping in and grabbing Macdonald sort of clarified, simplified things.”

Patrick inquired further, “Did they want Dan Quinn? Did they settle for Dan?” Breer responded, “They love Dan Quinn, they do.” Patrick, unsatisfied again, asked, “But did they settle for Dan Quinn?”

Breer responded pointing to the common connections in San Francisco with Adam Peters there with Kyle Shanahan and other coaches having worked for Quinn in Atlanta. “So with Quinn, the references were great. He knocked the interview out of the park.”

“Is it as exciting a hire as Raheem Morris, Ben Johnson, or Mike Macdonald would have been? You know, maybe not. But Dan Quinn is somebody in high demand the last couple of years.”

“So I think ‘settled’ is the wrong word. I think they were just kind of committed to riding the entire process out, and because of that, they lost a couple of guys along the way.”

On Feb. 1, Chris Russell (The Team 980) stated Morris and Macdonald had both been offered the job and chose to go elsewhere. Russell has more than once also stated he was told by one in the Cowboys organization (during the season finale) that Quinn wanted this job.

Photo Gallery: Falcons introduce head coach Raheem Morris

Photo Gallery: Atlanta Falcons introduce Raheem Morris as 19th head coach in franchise history

The Atlanta Falcons began a new era of football on Monday, officially introducing Raheem Morris as the 19th head coach in franchise history. The former Rams defensive coordinator spent 2015-2020 in Atlanta as a member of Dan Quinn’s staff before taking over as the interim head coach for the final 11 games of the 2020 season.

Morris is highly respected in NFL circles and the Falcons are hoping he’s the right person to lead them back to the playoffs. Check out the best photos from Monday’s press conference in Atlanta below!

Raheem Morris: ‘I don’t need to be the smartest person in the building’

“I don’t need to be the smartest person in the building,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told reporters at his Monday press conference

One thing that drove Falcons fans crazy during Arthur Smith’s tenure as head coach was the feeling that he cared more about being the reason for the team’s success than he did about the team being successful.

Obviously, that’s not true, but Smith’s demeanor often gave fans the impression that he wasn’t open to criticism. When Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner offered some constructive feedback, Smith brushed his comments off like they were written by some Twitter troll.

Smith felt Desmond Ridder was ready to be the starting quarterback and despite his inexperience, the young QB was only allowed to play one drive in the preseason. That drive ended in an interception, which would be a sign of things to come.

This kind of arrogance is what eventually led the team to replace Smith with head coach Raheem Morris. The Falcons introduced Morris on Monday and the press conference had a drastically different tone than what fans grew accustomed to under Smith.

Morris has experience on both sides of the ball, but he believes in letting his coaches coach. “I don’t need to be the smartest person in the building,” Morris said during his introductory presser.

The Falcons head coach also said he wouldn’t micromanage his coordinators. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake will call the defense and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will run the offense.

Morris will focus on running the team, which is what a head coach is supposed to do.