Falcons could consider an old friend in their search to replace Raheem Morris

Now that Raheem Morris was shown the door, the Atlanta Falcons are searching long and hard to find his replacement. It's no secret that the Falcons' job is pretty desirable, as the new regime will immediately inherit a talented roster that's designed to compete in the NFC South every single year.

With that said though, there's some rumors that the Dirty Birds are looking to the college ranks for Morris' potential successor. This is not an official report, but a fan on the Texas A&M message boards revealed that there are rumors that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian will meet with the Falcons this week.

It's unlikely this post is very reputable, especially since it came from the message boards of the Longhorns' biggest rivals, but there very well could be a little bit of truth to this. There have been reports that Sarkisian could look to jump back to the NFL, and he does have a history in Atlanta.

Ex-Falcons' OC Steve Sarkisian could be a dark horse head coaching candidate in Atlanta

The 51-year-old was the Falcons' offensive coordinator for two seasons in 2017 and 2018 after Kyle Shanahan left Atlanta to become the head coach of the 49ers. His first season went pretty well, but the offense suffered a statistical regression in 2018, which led to Sarkisian's firing that offseason.

In all honesty, the Falcons could do a lot worse than Sarkisian this cycle. Across his last three seasons in Austin, he's compiled an impressive 35-7 record, which resulted in two College Football Playoff appearances. And if any college coach were most likely to make the jump, it would be him over Marcus Freeman or Dan Lanning.

Sarkisian also has an extensive track record of coaching elite-level offenses and tends to be a creative play-caller, which is exactly what the Falcons need. But most importantly, he coached Bijan Robinson during his time in Austin, which means he is well aware of how to use the superstar back.

The Falcons need someone who can get the most out of the elite talent their offense boasts, while also working to develop Michael Penix Jr. into the signal-caller he's capable of being. Given the work Sarkisian did with both Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers, he could certainly do the same with Penix.

Poaching a college coach would be a big swing for new president of football Matt Ryan's first hire, but Sark also coached Ryan in Atlanta. That familiarity could be a big factor in considering him as head coach, but it still would be a surprise to see Sarkisian leave Texas in any capacity.

At the moment, the Falcons have already interviewed with Klint Kubiak, Aden Durde, and Anthony Weaver and are expected to talk to others. This post doesn't mean that Sarkisian is a top candidate in Atlanta or anything, but it wouldn't be overly surprising if he received an interview for the position.