The job market has really washed up for Raheem Morris, and it's hard to be surprised. After cementing himself as the most average head coach in NFL history across the last two seasons, the Atlanta Falcons learned from their mistakes and fired him, but Morris hasn't learned a damn thing.
He has deluded himself into thinking he'll receive a second shot as a head coach when only one team is still considering him. The veteran coach even threatened to spend the season working in TV if he didn't receive another head coaching job, which is the same arrogance that got him fired originally.
Morris has been pretty insane to not pursue some of the many high-profile DC jobs that were available, but he might finally be learning his lesson. According to NBC San Francisco's Matt Maiocco, the 49-year-old was one of three known interviewees for the 49ers' defensive coordinator vacancy.
Source: Thus far, the 49ers have interviewed Raheem Morris, Joe Woods and Gus Bradley for their vacant defensive coordinator position.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 29, 2026
In addition to Morris, Maiocco reported that the Niners spoke with ex-Saints DC Joe Woods and assistant head coach and longtime DC Gus Bradley to succeed Robert Saleh, who's now the head coach of the Titans. This candidate list means that Raheem has a shot here, but will he even accept?
Raheem Morris has a chance to reunite with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco after the Falcons fired him
Morris is very stubborn, but the one man he may take this demotion for is Kyle Shanahan. The pair worked together for multiple seasons in Washington and Atlanta, but the New Jersey native was the assistant head coach when Shanahan was the Falcons' OC during the team's Super Bowl run in 2016.
Morris and Shanahan are reportedly extremely close to the point where Shanahan revealed that Raheem would be his chosen head coach if he ever became a GM. Apparently, the Niners' head coach also convinced his dad, legendary coach Mike Shanahan, to hire Morris hen they were in Washington.
Shanahan was also arrested standing up for Morris at the 2005 NFL Draft Combine after he was wrongfully arrested, which led him to spend a night in jail. There's clearly a lot of mutual respect and loyalty between them, so it's starting to make sense why this is the DC job Morris is warming up to.
A Falcons reunion between the pair is interesting enough, but this would also be a solid stepping stone for the Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator. He would also get to work with elite talents like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner and a defense that took a major step back in 2025 due to injury woes.
Once Morris gets the message across that he isn't built to be a head coach, he would shine as a DC, but it may have gotten lost in translation.