Getty Raheem Morris of the Los Angeles Rams
There are plenty of reasons why “Coach Rah” is beloved by the Los Angeles Rams. Raheem Morris has an effusive, vibrant and intense side but knows how to get the most from his players.
And it turns out there was one moment involving Morris that an NFL insider revealed on the morning of Monday, August 22 that helped turn the tide of Super Bowl 56…and made Morris all the more appreciated inside the “Rams House.”
What Morris Said That Ignited the Rams
Longtime NFL insider Peter King of NBC Sports’ Football Morning in America spent time in Thousand Oaks at the Rams’ Cal Lutheran site. He had some quality time with the second-year defensive coordinator for the Rams.
But it was one moment King described that can now put the 45-year-old Morris in Rams’ lore.
“The Rams led Cincinnati 13-10 at halftime of the Super Bowl last February. But they hadn’t really impacted Joe Burrow, who’d completed two-thirds of his throws and been sacked just once in the first 30 minutes. The Bengals were — surprise! — sliding protection to thwart Aaron Donald, and the Rams couldn’t take advantage of the rest of the defense,” King wrote.
That was when Morris took a fiery stand — and made this aggressive decision.
“When he stood in front of the defense at halftime, he announced a decisive change. It involved an unlikely piece of the Rams’ D: a light-ish rookie linebacker with a maniacal streak named Ernest Jones,” King detailed.
King unveiled that Morris blitzed the 2021 draft pick seven times during the second half of the big game. And that includes this sack of Burrow where Jones attacks the middle:
“In all, Jones had four pressures on Burrow. Morris’ coaching wrinkle led to six second-half sacks by the Rams, and intense pressure on the final drive in the Rams’ 23-20 win,” King wrote.
Jones Recalls Moment
Now in his second season, the South Carolina standout Jones told King that he remembers that moment with “Coach Rah.”
“Rah told us, ‘We’re gonna change things up here. We’re gonna start sending [blitzing] Ernest in the second half. It’ll be Ernest one-on-one against their back. We think we’ll be able to get more pressure that way,’” Jones said to King. “No way I was expecting Rah to send me like that. I’m sure the Bengals weren’t expecting us to send the rookie linebacker either. Maybe that’s why Rah’s so good.”
Ultimately, Morris dialing up the pressure from Jones and the other ‘backers led to Aaron Donald’s climatic final defensive pressure that sealed the Rams’ second Super Bowl victory.
Morris, though, didn’t want to take credit for that gutsy decision to deliver that emotional speech and turn to a rookie to help spark the Rams’ defense against a high-powered Bengals offense that at one point had the lead late in the game.
“The beauty of football, and the beauty of being a coordinator, is that it’s never just one person,” Morris said to King. “In this case, it was the clear, concise information given to the players by coaches, their position coaches in particular. It’s about incorporating everybody, the players and coaches alike.”
Now, the Rams and Bengals will have their rematch in the final preseason game of 2022 on Saturday, August 27 in Cincy.