Getty Falcons defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
It’s officially official, the contract is inked and the Atlanta Falcons have named Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as their new head coach.
As Smith begins to assemble his staff, ESPN Jeremy Fowler reports that the Falcons are expected to hire Chicago Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone.
One name strongly connected to Arthur Smith’s staff as he takes the Atlanta Falcons job: Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone. I’m told there’s a good chance he becomes Smith’s OC after five years in Chicago.
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Smith and Ragone Worked Together Before
Smith and Ragone are very familiar with each other as the two worked together in Tennessee from 2011-2013. Smith was the Titans offensive line and tight end assistant coach at the time and Ragone was the wide receivers coach and then quarterbacks. Smith also spent a season as was the Titans’ offensive assistant/quality control coach and then another season as the defensive assistant/quality control coach.
Ragone, 41, is on his fifth season with the Bears and his first as the passing game coordinator. He was the quarterback coach before he was promoted. Prior to that, Ragone was the offensive quality control coach for the Washington Football Team.
Ragone has played a role in helping to turn around Mitchell Trubisky, Jay Cutler, Kirk Cousins, and Jake Locker.
Smith’s Success With The Titans
Smith worked under the Titans since 2011 where he began his NFL career as a defensive quality control coach. From there, Smith worked his way up the ladder and served as Tennessee’s offensive quality control coach, offensive line assistant, and tight ends coach. And in 2019, Smith was promoted to offensive coordinator.
With Smith leading the offense, Tennessee ranked fourth in the league in scoring during the 2020 regular season, averaging 30.7 points per game. The team also finished the regular season averaging 396.4 total yards per game, putting them at third in the league. Tennessee had a solid rushing attack posting 168.1 yards per game which landed them second below the Baltimore Ravens (191.9 yards).
Smith bringing on Ragone would mean Dirk Koetter could be out the door.
Jaguars Seeking Morris
Morris didn’t get the permanent role as Atlanta turned to Arthur Smith instead.
That doesn’t mean Morris is done on the sidelines. Jacksonville Jaguars’ new head coach, Urban Meyer, has reportedly been discussing with Morris about the open defensive coordinator job, per NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Jaguars’ HC Urban Meyer is talking to former Falcons’ HC Raheem Morris about becoming Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator, per sources. The two sides have been in contract and continue to be, as Morris sifts through his opportunities.
Urban was interested in Dan Quinn first for the defensive job, but Quinn is now off the market after taking a job with the Dallas Cowboys as their defensive coordinator.
Morris has plenty of experience under his belt from being the head coach of the Buccaneers at age 32, to getting fired and having to start from the ground up again.
In back-to-back seasons with the Falcons, Morris has turned around Atlanta’s defense. While Morris won’t be getting a head coach position this year, Falcons defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, has endorsed Morris for future opportunities.
Ulbrich has noticed the landscape of the NFL is changing and successful coaches know how to relate to their players and stringly believes Morris is “one of those rare guys that has that ability to create the environment that’s necessary,” via AtlantaFalcons.com.
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