After Brandon Staley landed the Chargers’ head coaching job, the Rams are moving quickly to replace him. The Rams are “focusing” on Raheem Morris as their new defensive coordinator, sources told Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Garafolo cautions that the deal isn’t quite done yet, but it’s “looking like he will be the one” to replace Staley. It’s been a busy past six months for Morris, who started the 2020 season as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator before getting promoted to interim head coach when Dan Quinn was fired after five games. The Falcons went on an initial hot streak under Morris, leading to some reporting that he had impressed team brass and could be a real candidate for the full-time job there, but the team ultimately fizzled down the stretch and then hired Arthur Smith instead.
He still got an interview from Atlanta, and also got a head coaching interview with the Jaguars. After the Jags hired Urban Meyer, he interviewed with Jacksonville for their DC role. Rapoport added in a follow-up tweet that Morris was “the target in several other places,” so it sounds like the Rams won a bidding war of sorts.
There had been some talk that the Rams could go in-house to replace Staley, like with cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant, but clearly Sean McVay had other ideas. Morris was previously the head coach of the Buccaneers for three seasons from 2009-11, where he went 17-31.
He’s highly regarded in league circles though, and had the Falcons fighting really hard despite the 0-5 start. With Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey at his disposal, he’ll have a lot of talent to work with in Los Angeles.