NFL coach firings, hirings and movement tracker: Falcons set to tab Raheem Morris in surprising choice.

Raheem Morris, the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, will be joining the Atlanta Falcons as head coach, the team announced on Thursday.

It’s a rather surprising selection considering the Falcons had a lengthy list of high-profile interviewees for the job, including three interviews with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Morris has prior experience with the squad, though, having worked as the team’s defensive coordinator and acting as interim head coach for the last 11 games in 2020. In addition, he held a number of offensive assistant coaching positions in Atlanta from 2015 to 2019.

Since 2021, he has served as the Rams’ defensive coordinator.

Morris is one of six head coaches that the NFL has hired in the recent week. By convincing Jim Harbaugh to leave Michigan, the Los Angeles Chargers were able to sign possibly the greatest name available.

The Chargers revealed on Wednesday that coach Jim Harbaugh will be joining them in the NFL, having guided his alma college to a national championship a few weeks earlier.

Prior to spending nine seasons as Michigan’s coach, Harbaugh spent four seasons (2011–14) as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers never finished with a losing record throughout those seasons, winning three NFC title games and a Super Bowl. However, an 8-8 campaign in 2014 and tensions between Harbaugh and the front office contributed to his departure.

Now that he’s back in control, Justin Herbert, the quarterback, leads a promising Los Angeles team.

Joe Hortiz, who is supposedly going to take over as general manager of the Chargers, will presumably be teamed with him. Since 2019, Hortiz has been the director of player personnel for the Baltimore Ravens.

In other NFL news, offensive coordinator Dave Canales of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was named head coach of the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. He’ll work with Dan Morgan, who the Panthers earlier in the week appointed to the position of general manager/president of football operations. Canales worked as an assistant for the Seattle Seahawks for 13 seasons before moving to Tampa Bay in 2023.