Raheem Morris is the man calling the plays for one of the NFL’s fiercest defenses and he’s now in line for a chance to impress the Minnesota Vikings, who have put in a request to interview him for their vacant head coach position.
That’s according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, who says he has received numerous messages from colleagues and former players who have nothing but good things to say about Morris.
“Reported the Vikings/Morris interview request first because countless people have texted in support of Morris in last week,” Schrager wrote in a tweet. “Tomlin, McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Dan Quinn, Ronde Barber and countless others have been vocal on Raheem Morris’s impact on them as coaches and players.”
Schrager then re-shared a July 2021 video series he did with Rams head coach Sean McVay, Morris and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. In the video, Morris and Tomlin explain the advice they would give to a young high school coach.
What advice would Raheem Morris and Mike Tomlin give to aspiring head coaches? Find out on the 'Flying Coach' podcast with @PSchrags and Sean McVay: pic.twitter.com/6H9uoxMLz5
— The Ringer (@ringer) July 21, 2021
Morris was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, when he was in his early to mid-30s. The Bucs went 3-13 in his first year, 10-6 in Year 2, and then 4-12 in Year 3, at which point he was fired.
Morris was 35 when he was fired, and as ESPN’s story about his firing in early 2012 pointed out, he was working with a bad quarterback – Josh Freeman threw 22 interceptions that season – and the youngest team in the NFL, with 30 of 53 players in their first, second or third year in the league.
Morris got another shot as head coach during the 2020 season after the Atlanta Falcons fired Dan Quinn (another hot coaching candidate who is the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys). Morris coached the final 11 games of the 2020 season, with the Falcons going 4-7 with him in charge.
Atlanta didn’t retain him as head coach, which led to him being hired by the Rams as defensive coordinator.
Morris has 20 years of coaching experience in the NFL, including coaching defensive backs and wide receivers.
Other coaches the Vikings are expected to interview:
- Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell
- Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon
- Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore
- Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
- 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans
- Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett
- Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles
