After the Atlanta Falcons fifth straight loss saw them drop to 3-7 on the year, it saw questions about Raheem Morris' job security only grow louder. While some believe that the likely season-ending injury to Michael Penix Jr. bought Morris time, others believe the writing is already on the wall in Atlanta.
While discussing the looming head coaching carousel, NFL Insider Ari Meirov shed some light on the futures of Morris and Terry Fontenot following the Dirty Birds' 30-27 overtime loss to the Panthers on Sunday. And Meirov even went as far to call Atlanta "the No. 1 hotspot in the NFL" in regards to firings.
Moreover, he also revealed that both Fontenot and president Rich McKay were the ones who convined Arthur Blank that Morris was the best man for the job. But not even two seasons later, it's starting to become clear that the Falcons desperately need a new regime to turn things around.
Ari Meirov all but admits that the Falcons will soon fire Raheem Morris
With that being said, Fontenot getting another year but Morris getting fired would be malpractice. The fifth-year general manager has already been with the Falcons through two different coaching staffs without making the playoffs, so there should be absolutely no reason he deserves to stay for a third.
The 49-year-old coach was hired to be a "players coach" after nearly leading Atlanta to the playoffs as the interim coach back in 2020, but the decision to bring him back hasn't aged as gracefully as many have hoped. The locker room is in total shambles while the offense is grossly underperforming.
To make matters worse, Fontenot and the Falcons completely whiffed when hiring Morris, choosing him over names like Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson, Mike Macdonald, and Jim Harbaugh. And all four of those coaches are thriving elsewhere, as their teams are all in line to make the playoffs this season.
Meanwhile, the Dirty Birds are in line to miss the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season while their franchise quarterback suffered his third ACL tear since college. And to make matters even worse, the Falcons don't even have a first-round pick due to the disastrous James Pearce Jr. trade with the Rams.
Throughout the season, Morris and Fontenot have been complacent in their attempts to improve the roster despite knowing they were on the hot seat, so it's no surprise their days in Atlanta are numbered.
But if Blank does make the difficult decision to move on, the focus will shift towards nailing the hires of their successors in order to finally tap into this roster's potential.