The Atlanta Falcons have lost seven of their last eight games as their playoff hopes are all but diminished. But amid one of the darkest stretches in franchise history, there is nothing Raheem Morris could do or say to silence the concerns and the anger that is growing among the fanbase.
The 37-9 blowout loss saw the Falcons fall to 4-9 as an eighth straight playoff-less season is becoming likely. After the the Seahawks outscored them 31-3 in the second half, Morris seems to be well aware his time in Atlanta is coming to an end, which led him to admit the fanbase deserves better.
And as crazy as it sounds, Morris is right. The 49-year-old coach nearly led the Dirty Birds to the playoffs last year, but the dysfunction has been constant this season. However, what this fanbase truly deserves is a coach who knows how to help this talented roster achieve its immense potential.
Raheem Morris' words continue to fall on deaf ears with frustrated Falcons fanbase
The Falcons have no business being one of the worst teams in football. They have an offense headlined by two superstars in Drake London and Bijan Robinson and finally have a strong pass-rush spearheaded by rookie sensations James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker, but it's not amounting to wins.
It seems like Morris knows the disaster season is on him, and that he knows he'll be fired some time within the next few weeks. It's incredibly unfortunate, because the second-year coach seems like an incredibly good guy and the locker room seems to respect him. But nice guys don't win Super Bowls.
Morris also spoke about lessons this team can take entering a short week against the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. He was quick to hold himself accountable for the team shooting themselves in the foot, rather than blaming the officials for waving off a Darnell Mooney TD, or the special teams.
The special teams woes certainly didn't help, but the inability to slow down Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Rashid Shaheed was just as bad. The same could be said for Kirk Cousins' worst start since Michael Penix Jr. went down, but the ugly truth is, this team has quit on their supposed "players coach".
A common trend in the NFL is when some coaches fare better as coordinators rather than head coaches, because head coaches make too many decisions that not everyone can handle. And Morris is definitely a good coach, but this season has made it evident that he is not head coaching material.