Falcons HC stressed the importance of the future to front office in 2020

The Atlanta Falcons were warned by head coach Raheem Morris. Atlanta's new head coach warned the Falcons about planning for the future when he served as interim head coach following the firing of Dan Quinn in 2020. 

Morris was interviewed by Atlanta after that season for the full-time position and told the front office how vital it was to have a succession plan in place for Matt Ryan.

By that time, Ryan was a few years removed from winning league MVP honors and was near the end. The Falcons passed on Morris in 2021 and hired former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. 

Under Smith, the Falcons finished 7-10 in each of the last three years. Atlanta pretty much ignored Morris’s advice about preparing for the future and wound up selecting Desmond Ridder in the third round of the 2022 draft. 

Smith and Ridder fizzled out fast in Atlanta, prompting the Falcons to bring Morris back into the fold. Morris’s philosophy from three years prior is what led to the Falcons shocking everyone by snagging Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick in last week’s draft. 

“Kirk Cousins right now, is basically what Matt Ryan was in 2020 when I was here. He’s going to be a good quarterback for us but he’s not going to be here forever…” said Raheem Morris to the Falcons, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.

Cousins was great the past few years in Minnesota, but he’ll turn 36 years old before the start of the season, plus he’s coming off an Achilles injury. Morris is thinking ahead and is correct about Cousins. 

Regardless of what Cousins does in the next couple of years, it won’t last forever. There’s no guarantee they’d have a chance to draft one of the top QBs in the draft next year. Taking the QB you feel can develop into something over time was the right move by coach Morris.