Entering Week 18, there is no man whose future is more in doubt than Raheem Morris. Following a shocking upset over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, the belief was that Morris' future with the Atlanta Falcons is completely safe, but it turns out he's still coaching for his job this weekend.
Despite the Falcons' three-game winning streak, the main reason as to why the doubts about the 49-year-old's future have yet to subside isn't because of their 4-9 start. It's mainly because Morris has grossly mismanaged the quarterback situation, yet he continues to preach that he has no regrets.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on whether he would have handled QB1 differently at the start of this season: "No. Mike (Penix Jr.) was outstanding. It was awesome when he played for us. Mike did a nice job. Mike got hurt. Kirk (Cousins) stepped in and did exactly what we…
— Terrin Waack (@TerrinWaack) December 31, 2025
While addressing the media earlier this week, Morris was asked if he regrets starting Michael Penix Jr. over Kirk Cousins to begin the season. And while the real answer is probably, he knew better than to throw his franchise quarterback under the bus to protect an aging veteran who likely won't be a Falcon next year.
Falcons' mismanagement of QB dilemma should be what gets Raheem Morris fired
At the end of last season, Penix displayed enough upside to warrant being named the starter this season after a late-season collapse from Cousins saw the Dirty Birds narrowly miss the playoffs, even though they jumped out to a 6-3 record and the 37-year-old looked like the long-term answer.
This season, Cousins has went 4-2 as the starter after Penix went down, which is significantly better than Penix's 3-6 record. Since he's been injured, the offense (even without Drake London) has looked considerably better, which has a portion of the fanbase considering that Penix was the real problem.
They threw the former Heisman Trophy runner-up into the fire last season in a desperate attempt to make the playoffs, and still chose to start him despite the significant cap hit going to Cousins. And making matter worse is the fact the organization chose not to trade Cousins this past offseason.
Whether it's financial or draft capital, Terry Fontenot has invested a lot of resources into the quarterback room, which is the one area of this Falcons' roster that is holding this team back. So if Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow become available, he must inquire to drastically improve the position.
The quarterback purgatory in Atlanta has recurred since Matt Ryan was traded, and neither Penix nor Cousins has shown enough to be the starter in 2026. But at least if they started their four-time Pro Bowl veteran from the start, there's at least a chance Morris could've taken this team to the playoffs.
But instead, his future is in flux, which stems from his own inability to address the quarterback problem without being forced to by injuries, which is why Arthur Blank needs to make a change. And that starts and ends with the right moves in free agency.