When the Atlanta Falcons fired Arthur Smith after the 2023 season, their head coaching vacancy was perceived to be among the most desirable in the NFL. The Falcons boasted three explosive young weapons in Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London, and were picking inside the top 10 of one of the best quarterback classes in recent memory.
You would think the Dirty Birds would be able to land an up-and-comer in coaching circles in hopes of ending the playoff drought. They scheduled interviews with candidates like Mike Vrabel, Mike Macdonald, Ben Johnson, and Jim Harbaugh, but passed on all four of them for a worse alternative.
The Falcons' final two candidates were Raheem Morris and Bill Belichick before Terry Fontenot landed on Morris, and that decision has aged horribly. While the Falcons are sitting at 3-7, all four of those notable coaches they passed on have their teams well-positioned to make the playoffs this season.
The Raheem Morris hire looks even worse when you consider who the Falcons could've had
Meanwhile, Morris' group is amid a five-game losing streak and the team more than likely just lost Michael Penix Jr. for the season due to his third ACL tear since college. The roster is talented enough to be in the mix for the playoffs, but it's become clear that a change in leadership is needed in Atlanta.
In his first season coaching the Chicago Bears, Johnson has used his offensive creativity to tap into Caleb Williams' potential, which has quickly paid dividends. After 11 weeks, Chicago sits at 7-3 and are currently sitting atop one of the league's most difficult divisions in the daunting NFC North.
While the Falcons deal with Zac Robinson's inability to utilize this offense's talent, it stings even worse knowing they could have had one of the NFL's brightest young minds working wih Penix and their arsenal of elite weapons.
The same could be said for Harbaugh, who has the Chargers in line to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season, or Vrabel, who has seemingly brought back the golden ages of New England Patriots football after the Titans wrongfully fired him two seasons ago.
The same could be said for Macdonald, who has the 7-3 Seattle Seahawks looking like one of the NFC's most dangerous teams. While Sam Darnold has been playing like an MVP candidate, the Georgia native could have given the Falcons exactly what he's brought to Seattle's locker room.
While it looks like passing on Belichick has aged like fine wine, the decision to hire Morris looks like a complete disaster. When you hire a players coach who can't even keep the locker room together, you know you messed up, but the worst part is knowing Penix's injury doesn't guarantee he'll be fired.