Following a 30-27 loss to the Carolina the Panthers in Week 11, the Atlanta Falcons have fallen to 3-7 on the season, and head coach Raheem Morris has officially taken the blame for the slide. Through five straight losses, this once exciting team has free-fallen into the pit of despair in this league.
Through it all, Morris has been steadfast in repeating the same phrase, "We gotta find a way." Morris repeated this same phrase 13 times during the six-minute post-game presser today.
For five straight weeks, the Falcons have been unable to find a way to win, and fans are furious. Finally, Morris' post-game attitude shifted slightly. He mostly repeated the same coach speak we're long accustomed to, nothing but frustration, short answers, and whatnot.
In a shocking twist of fate, fans finally got to hear Morris do what they never thought he would: accept responsibility for a disaster of a season in Atlanta.
"Not good. We've lost five games in a row ... There's no such thing as a losing team. There's a losing leader. We lost," Morris said.
Raheem Morris knows he has nowhere to hide after the Falcons' Week 11 disaster
At long last, the second-year head coach finally admits he's been the problem. Even he knows his job is in jeopardy. He didn't blame the offense, didn't blame the defense, just himself. In fact, in the post-game presser, he was quite complimentary of everyone, but clearly, he knows he's in trouble.
The Falcons are winless in three games against NFC South opponents this season, and Week 11 was no different. For weeks during this awful losing streak, fans have been calling for Morris to lose his job. Typically, owner Arthur Blank is slow to terminate head coaches and allows a three-year period.
During his 23-year tenure owning the team, Blank has fired a head coach once before their three-season stint was up. The Falcons were 3-10 when he fired longtime college coach Bobby Petrino amid his inaugural season in Atlanta. And even that came because he was ready to return to college.
Regardless of history, Morris has got to go. The 49-year-old has never been successful in the NFL, and this season is no different. Morris boasts a .376 winning percentage through 85 games as a head coach, which is plenty of time to get it together, especially with a talented roster in tow.
The Falcons have lost three-straight easily winnable games, two against division leaders, all by one score. Morris can't clutch up or manage the clock to save his job, and it's all over.
Unless Atlanta goes on an unprecedented win streak to end the season, Morris should be out of a job before the end of the year, and he knows it. Everyone in the greater Atlanta area should be aware of the writing that's on the wall at this point.