The Monday after the final NFL regular season game is one of, if not the toughest day in the entire NFL calendar. A slew of head coaches will, or have already lost their jobs. This has a trickle-down effect throughout the entire organization and many people on the staff, as well as families of the staff, will suffer the ramifications. This is true of Ron Rivera who was fired by the Washington Commanders early Monday morning.
NFL teams that have moved on from their head coach will move quickly to set up interviews so that they can make a hire, and hopefully their top choice, as quickly as possible. Mere hours after Rivera was let go, the Commanders requested permission to interview Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, for their open position.
Washington Commanders Request Interview With Los Angeles Rams Raheem Morris
This would be a huge loss for the Rams, but an expected one as Raheem Morris has done as good a job as any coordinator in the NFL this season.
Based on this past offseason, the Los Angeles Rams were expected to be in full-rebuild mode. They offloaded most of their premier players, most notably on the defensive side of the ball. Just to name a few, they parted ways with Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd, and Greg Gaines.
Outside of Aaron Donald, the defense was bringing back emerging talent in Ernest Jones and Jordan Fuller, but outside of that, was going to be a group of rookies, castaways, and unknowns.
Statistically speaking, the Rams defense finished middle of the pack, but they were a unit that kept the team in just about every game. The lack of top-end talent was on display in certain situations, but it was an extremely well-coached unit that exceeded any and all expectations.
Raheem Morris will be one of the most sought-after coordinators in this cycle and was one of the first calls from Washington ownership.
Before joining the Rams, Morris had a number of different coaching positions with the Atlanta Falcons including wide receivers coach, and defensive coordinator. Morris was on the famous Washington staff that included Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, etc. from 2012 to 2014 as the defensive backs coach. Before that, Morris was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011.
Raheem Morris is beloved by his players and one of the most respected coaches around the league. As stated earlier, if/when he is hired, it will be a huge loss for the Los Angeles Rams, but a well-deserved promotion back to the head coaching world.