NFL Week 18 overreaction
USAT’s Prince Grimes will shatter his plans for the NFL playoffs after the regular season.
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The Atlanta Falcons are being reset again.
Just hours after Sunday’s final regular-season game, the team fired coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. Both seasons with Morris at the helm ended with an 8-9 record.
Fontenot has been general manager for the past five years and oversaw several controversial moves, including the Falcons selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick just over a month after signing veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Despite ending the season with four straight wins, the Falcons opted to change their lead.
“While I have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “The decision to part ways with people who represent our organization well and who have a shared commitment to the values that are important to our organization was not easy, but the results on the field did not meet our expectations or those of our fans or coaches. We wish Raheem and Terry the absolute best in their future pursuits.”
Expectations were high entering the season as Atlanta was looking to break out of a playoff slump surpassed only by the New York Jets. With Penix taking over as the full-time starter after a promising three-game stint to close out 2024, the Falcons looked to build an explosive offense centered around running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake Rondon.
However, Penix struggled with ball placement, and the Falcons’ offense struggled with both early scoring and third-down conversions. After starting 3-2, the team lost five straight games, ending their playoff hopes and extending their losing streak to eight seasons.
In mid-November, Penix suffered a torn ACL, ending his season. The former Washington and Indiana passer suffered two anterior cruciate ligament tears during his college career.
Still, Robinson finished the year with an NFL-high 2,298 yards from scrimmage.
“We have enough personnel to do what we need to do, and that’s what’s so frustrating for us,” Morris said Sunday after the final game of the season against the New Orleans Saints.
Last April, Atlanta gave up a 2026 first-round pick to take edge rusher James Pierce Jr. at No. 26 overall. Pierce was brought in to revitalize a pass rush that, along with fellow first-rounder Jaron Walker, recorded the fewest sacks in the entire organization from 2019 to 2024. Pierce set the franchise single-season rookie sack record with 10 1/2 sacks, and the unit overall ranked second in the NFL with 57 thanks to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s lightning-fast approach.
However, the Falcons ended up surrendering the top half of the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Rams, leaving the team with few resources to address holes in its receiving corps and other areas.
Morris is the third coach to be fired this season, after the Tennessee Titans fired Brian Callahan and the New York Giants parted ways with Brian Daboll.
(This article has been updated with new information.)
