Falcons Fire Quinn, Promote Morris To Interim Head Coach

ATLANTA, GA — The Atlanta Falcons named defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their interim head coach Monday after firing Dan Quinn the night before.

Quinn and Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff were fired late Sunday night after the Falcons lost their fifth game this year, this one to the Carolina Panthers 23-16. The Falcons finished 7-9 under Quinn during each of the two previous seasons.

Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay will take over Dimitroff’s duties until a new general manager is hired.

"Raheem is a strong leader and a talented coach that has adapted to a variety of roles since joining the Falcons in 2015," McKay said in a statement posted to the team’s website. “He has experience as a head coach and has worked on both sides of the ball.”

Morris’s elevation to head coach comes less than 24 hours after Falcons owner Arthur Blank dismissed Quinn and Dimitroff late Sunday night.

"Decisions like these are very difficult, but the previous two seasons and start to this one have been especially hard for me because of the deep love, admiration and respect I and my family have for Dan, Thomas and their families," Blank said in a statement. "For many years, they have represented me, our team, organization and Atlanta with class, commitment and all the passion you would want in the leaders of the team. But as everyone knows, this is a results business and I owe it to our fans to put the best product we can on the field.

Morris is in his sixth season with the Falcons and his first as the defensive coordinator. He also is one of two Falcons coordinators who are former head coaches, both with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Morris headed the Bucs from 2009 to 2011, narrowly missing the playoffs in 2010. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter coached the Bucs from 2016 to 2018.