Top coaching candidates to replace Raheem Morris after getting fired by the Atlanta Falcons 

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t wait until for what they call Black Monday around the NFL to let their head coach Raheem Morris go. Shortly after the Falcons Week 18 game against the New Orleans Saints news hit that Morris was on the way out and now the coaching search commences from Mercedes Benz Stadium.

QB conundrum

The move came as a bit of a surprise as the Falcons gave Morris just two years to try and turn things around in Atlanta. In his first year went 8-9 last year in a messy situation that saw the franchise pay $180 million for Kirk Cousins, only to draft quarterback Michael Penix just a few weeks later.

The situation was messy as Cousins felt slighted by the Falcons no long after putting pen to paper. The Falcons just missed the playoffs last season in a year that Cousins was benched in the second half of the season and the keys of the car were given to the rookie QB. They just missed out of the playoffs but there were big hopes for a return to the playoffs this year.

Atlanta began the season with Penix as their started and went 3-2 to start the season, but a five game losing streak would see them slip down the standings and Penix get sidelined with a season ending injury. Cousins stepped in for the final seven weeks of the season, and ended up winning the final four games of the season, but it wasn’t enough for Morris or GM Terry Fontenot to keep their jobs.

The next best candidates

Now the coaching search begins as the Falcons will look to get a jump on some of the other teams who could be looking for a coach this offseason. Lately the trend is finding coordinators who have made a name for themselves as assistants like Ben Johnson in Chicago and Liam Cohen in Jacksonville.

Joe Brady is one of the names that have been linked with the job. Brady was named offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills last season when Josh Allen won the MVP, and is now in the thick of a playoff run with the Bills. Klint Kubiak is another offensive coordinator who has helped led the Seattle Seahawks to the one seed in the NFC. Mike LaFleur, who is the Rams offensive coordinator is also on the short list and he could see his QB Matt Stafford in line to win the MVP at the end of this season.

There are a couple of veteran coaches in the mix as well. Mike McCarthy has been out of the coaching game since getting canned by the Cowboys last year. He is certainly a person of interest, and so is Bill Belichick who the Falcons interviewed last season but passed up on the six time Super Bowl winning coach.

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