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The Indianapolis Colts officially began their head coaching search with an interview of special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Indianapolis’ search will continue with the Colts’ first interview of a candidate outside the organization on January 13 — Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
“Sources: #Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris will interview with the Colts on Friday and the Broncos on Tuesday,” Rapoport wrote in a Twitter post. “An experienced head coach, he’d fit the mold for both teams that requested him.”
Morris was previously the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009-11. Over the last decade, he’s held various roles coaching offense and defense for three different NFL organizations.
Morris Due For Second Chance as NFL Head Coach
With his amount of success and experience on offense and defense, Morris is long overdue for another opportunity as an NFL head coach.
Morris began his coaching career at just 22 years old and held his first NFL job as defensive quality control with the Buccaneers at 26 in 2002. He became Tampa Bay’s assistant defensive backs coach in 2004.
After holding that position for two seasons, Morris left to assume the defensive coordinator role at Kansas State in 2006.
But Morris was only gone from Tampa Bay for one season. He returned as defensive backs coach in 2007; then the Buccaneers hired him as head coach after firing Jon Gruden in 2009.
During his first season, the Buccaneers were one of the worst teams in the league, going 3-13. But they won 10 games during his second season in 2010.
Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, that wasn’t a good enough record to earn a playoff spot, and then after a 4-12 mark in 2011, the Buccaneers fired Morris.
He returned to being a defensive backs coach with the then Washington Redskins in 2012. Before the 2015 season, Morris joined Dan Quinn’s staff with the Atlanta Falcons.
Morris coached both offense and defense in six seasons with the Falcons. He was the team’s pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2015-19.
In 2020, Morris returned to the defensive side of the ball to coordinate the Falcons defense. Morris finished the season as interim head coach after Atlanta fired Dan Quinn midseason.
The past two years, Morris was the defensive coordinator for the Rams. On their way to the Super Bowl last season, the Rams finished 17th in yards allowed and 15th in points yielded. But they were also 10th in takeaways, sixth in rushing defense and second in passing touchdowns allowed.
Although he just completed his 20th season of coaching in the league, Morris is also still only 46 years old.
Including his stint as interim head coach with the Falcons, Morris owns a 21-38 NFL record. He went 17-31 in three seasons with the Buccaneers.
How Morris Potentially Fits With Colts
The two internal candidates the Colts are reportedly considering for their next head coach, Ventrone and Jeff Saturday, both played in the NFL.
Morris didn’t play at that level, but he’s similar to Saturday in the sense that he’s well respected across the league. Morris is also more of a player’s coach.
Overall, though, Morris has more differences with Saturday than similarities. While Saturday entered midseason with no previous coaching experience, Morris has spent two decades in the league coaching both sides of the ball.
Although Morris’ record as a head coach is less than stellar, he has previous NFL head coach experience. He won’t be brand new to the role as Saturday has been the past couple months.
Morris figures to be one of several candidates the Colts interview before naming a new head coach. Indianapolis announced on January 11 that they interviewed Ventrone for the opening.
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