Sunday's loss might have put the nail in the coffin of Raheem Morris' time coaching the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons fell to 4-8, and are losers of six out of the last seven. Sunday marked the third humiliating loss of the season, this time to career backup Tyrod Taylor and the 3-9 New York Jets.
Morris can make all the excuses he wants, but the reality is the Falcons need a coaching change. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Steelers' fans believe the same about their team. After a loss to the Bills, loud chants rang out to fire Mike Tomlin, who is in his 19th season as the head coach of the Steelers.
If the Steelers can't make a late-season run, 2025 will mark the fifth straight mediocre season in Pittsburgh, which might cost Tomlin his job. Fans are unhappy, Aaron Rodgers seems unhappy, and Tomlin seems frustrated as well. Sound familiar?
When I asked Mike Tomlin about the chants to fire him:
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) December 1, 2025
“Man, I share their frustrations tonight. We didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality of it.” #Steelers pic.twitter.com/CmjBZiKlHp
If Falcons' general manager Terry Fontenot finally pulls the trigger and fires Morris, Tomlin may turn into a perfect match for Atlanta. Entering Week 14, Tomlin owns a .625 winning percentage over 19 years and 304 games as a head coach.
For comparison, Morris boasts a .375 winning percentage over 88 games as a head coach.
Falcons need to pursue Mike Tomlin if the Steelers follow through with firing him
Through Tomlin's illustrious 18 full seasons in Pittsburgh, he has yet to produce a losing season. The problem Steelers' fans have is his consistent inability to finish the season strong. The Steelers haven't won a playoff game since 2016, despite reaching the playoffs five times with some elite defenses.
Another problem Falcons' fans won't love is his inefficient offense. Tomlin hasn't coached a top 10 offense in points per game since 2017 when Big Ben, Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster were taking the NFL by storm—and that team lost in the divisional round to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars.
Even with his downsides, Tomlin is an above-average head coach. His history above .500 run is unmatched, and he's just 53 years old; he has plenty of coaching ahead of him. Maybe a change of scenery and a superior roster will allow him to break his streak of poor playoff performances.
Even if it's not Tomlin, Morris has got to go. His short-lived time in Atlanta has been riddled with controversy, and he hasn't yielded the results for anyone to be confident in him to right the ship.
After an improved 2024 season, the Falcons' offense has reverted to Desmond Ridder-era numbers, and the defense has fallen apart over the last few weeks.
With a disaster season in 2026 likely, Atlanta might as well get someone familiar with the role instead of allowing the second-year coach to waste another season of the rookie deals of their nucleus.