'Like We've Known Each Other Forever': How Falcons' Raheem Morris, Terry Fontenot Built Relationship in 10 Days
It's 5 a.m., and Terry Fontenot's phone begins to buzz.
The Atlanta Falcons' 43-year-old general manager looks over and checks the name attached to the text message: Raheem Morris.
Hired Jan. 25 after an extensive 14-candidate search, Morris is the Falcons' new head coach. But in this moment, he's still at his home in Los Angeles - meaning it's 2 a.m. local time.
When Morris isn't texting Fontenot, they're FaceTiming - so much that Fontenot's already well-versed with Morris's wife, Nicole, and their three kids.
Fontenot and Morris, who had no prior experience with one another, have quickly grown close. Morris is now Fontenot's personal alarm clock.
The two men - each of whom became the first full-time minority hire at their respective position in Falcons history - are off to a soaring start, fueled by late nights and early mornings.
"It's been very fun working with Raheem these last 10 days," Fontenot said Monday. "I don't know when he sleeps because he's on the West Coast and I'm on the East Coast and he usually wakes me up in the morning.
"It's been excellent as we've gone through in putting together the staff."
Morris has worked fast, filling nearly his entire coaching staff in less than two weeks. He's brought seven assistants with him from the Los Angeles Rams, hired four from the Los Angeles Chargers and retained double-digit members from Arthur Smith's staff.
The diligence and success Morris and Fontenot have tasted early, headlined by landing perhaps the league's most sought-after offensive coordinator in Rams assistant Zac Robinson, is only made more impressive by how fresh they still are to one another.
Fontenot has long known Morris, dating back to the latter's stint as Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach from 2009-2011. During one of their interviews, Fontenot pulled one of Morris's quotes from that stint many moons ago.
"He never forgot when I said, ‘There is a mentality before there’s ever reality,’" Morris said. "When he said it, I was like, ‘Man, I did say that. That was a cool statement.’"
It's a snippet of Fontenot's meticulously organized interview structure - and brief insight as to how the two began building their shared approach.
Fontenot, despite having never met Morris in person, knew entering his first Zoom with Morris on Jan. 20 he'd be speaking to a good teammate and quality person with a strong football acumen.
Still, there was a level of uncertainty ... but after several hours, any such doubts were gone.
"After the first Zoom, when you go through it and you really see the way he speaks and the way he communicates, I felt like we've known each other forever," Fontenot said.
Just three days later, Morris met Fontenot, owner Arthur Blank and several other decision makers at Blank's house in the Atlanta area.
Feb 5, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot pose for the media after Morris was introduced as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Morris and Blank were already close, dating back to Morris's six-year stint in Atlanta from 2015-2020. Falcons CEO Rich McKay had previously hired Morris three times, starting in 2002 with the Buccaneers.
There was familiarity between Morris and some of Atlanta's most important higher-ups - but he and Fontenot, who are ultimately in charge of creating change, had little.
But after completing the interview process, Fontenot kept coming back to one name - the same that now pops up on his phone at 5 a.m.
"It was very clear that there was one person that really stuck out, and that's Raheem Morris," Fontenot said. "It was his infectious energy, his natural leadership, his charisma, his football instincts and intelligence.
"But also, his collaborative mindset and the way he puts people around him and listens and empowers people."
When Morris first became a head coach, he was just 32 years of age. Young and naive, he admits now he thought he had all the answers.
This time around, it couldn't be more different.
Morris pointed to the back of the press room inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Karl Pierburg, senior vice president at Blank's Sports and Entertainment company, stood with a watchful eye.
Morris called Pierburg one of the smartest men he knows. He had similar praise for Falcons chief of staff Steve Scarnecchia, who was hired Jan. 31 from the same role with the New York Jets, and director of coaching operations Sarah Hogan, a holdover from the last staff.
Fontenot, assistant general manager Kyle Smith and senior personnel executive Ryan Pace were also mentioned.
Morris didn't do this to win style points with those he namedropped. Instead, it's an example of the evolution he's made since being fired by Tampa Bay in 2011 and another convicting show of his willingness to collaborate.
"I told (Blank and Fontenot) in my interview process, 'Hey, I don't need to be the smartest person in the building. I want to collaborate with all the smart people that you've assembled,'" Morris said.
When he finished the 2020 season as Atlanta's interim head coach, Morris still didn't fully have this mindset.
It didn't arrive until he joined the Rams and saw head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead put together consistently ongoing communication in an honest and open manner.
Morris saw McVay and Snead operate a professional organization as best friends. He said there's nothing more fun than helping win a Super Bowl alongside someone you share such a close bond with.
Now, Morris is trying to create similar results in Atlanta - not only off the field with the relationship between the coaching staff and front office but on the field with titles.
"Having a chance to take all of those lessons learned, being able to listen, being able to communicate, and now bringing it back here to the Atlanta community to go out here and win, do what we need to do," Morris said. "I've got a lot of confidence that we can do that with the people that we know are here."
Morris said he's seen the front office develop rapidly in his week and a half on the job, creating excitement for just how much more it can grow in the days ahead.
The relationships are strong - but Fontenot and Morris, who frequently traded smiles and laughs on stage Monday, also boast history.
Fontenot is the first black general manager in Falcons history. Morris is the first black head coach in Falcons history. Only four other teams in NFL history have had both a full-time black general manager and full-time black head coach.
Morris said Monday he understands the magnitude of the moment but noted it means more for his son, Jalen.
Still, the Morris-Fontenot duo is making history in Atlanta, and Morris believes it's only helped create a stronger bond.
"It's really cool to be sitting next to him," Morris said. "I think you find guys in your life, and you want to be a part of and you want to work with. These last 10 days have been pretty special.
"But it started even specially just throughout the process. The Zoom interview that turned into the in-person, and it really turned into this really cool collaboration just in those small moments of time. I thought that was a really cool spot to build."
Fontenot said in his opening statement that he and Smith had a collaborative working relationship and every decision made during their tenure was made by them alone, not Blank and McKay.
Atlanta's roster is in a different place now than it was three years ago, Fontenot pointed out, and Smith "played a big part" in the strides made.
But the Falcons failed to reach their high aspirations this past season and ultimately decided to part ways with Smith after three consecutive 7-10 campaigns.
The relationship between Fontenot and Smith wasn't an issue; Blank said last August they had a heightened level of respect for one another that differed from many of the previous pairings Blank's had in his two decades as the owner.
But winning, ultimately, proved difficult. Morris gets the next shot at doing so.
However, he's not doing so at the cost of collaboration.
"It's a big ol' elephant in the back of the room, and who's going to be the trigger man, who's going to do those things," Morris said. "Let's go collaborate together. Let's go figure out those things. Let's go put ourselves in the best position to go win football games.
"And I've got a lot of confidence in the people in this room that we can."
The Falcons haven't made the playoffs since the 2017 season. That's also the last time they finished with a record above .500.
Atlanta's stuck in a cycle of mediocrity, having won seven games in five of its last six campaigns.
Morris is known as a culture builder. Smith established a strong culture in Atlanta's locker room but didn't have the wins to back it up.
Again, that's where Morris needs to foster change ... and for the 47-year-old, doing so begins now, as he and Fontenot grow closer and closer by the day - or early-morning text.
"When you're talking about getting back to that mindset of what you need to do to get over the hump, it starts right here," Morris said. "Getting with Terry, coming up with this plan, bringing in the coaches that we need to get in place, collaborating the coaches with our scouts.
"Seeing who else we can add to this roster that he's already started to build, done such a great job of doing, being a part of that decision making with him, with me, us collaborating together. I mean, you can't do that enough."
The next step for Morris and Fontenot is working through the roster to formulate the offseason plan, be it free agency or the draft.
This process will be done with one goal - building a team that competes for championships and is able to sustain its success.
It's easier said than done. It's also a challenge Morris feels he's ready for - sparked by the lessons he's accumulated from McVay, Snead and many others during his 20 years in the NFL coaching industry.
"Our thing has to be based on our communication skills and how we move daily throughout our lives," Morris said. "That's the number one thing that's got to happen, to get back to that moment, to get back to those playoff type moments that we talked about with all the people across the board."
Morris interviewed for a handful of other jobs, but after his two meetings with the Falcons, he knew he wanted to be in Atlanta.
Left waiting for a phone call from Fontenot, Morris began pondering what he could create with the pieces the Falcons have and how he could work with the front office.
The ideas began to formulate. Morris grew excited. He finally received the phone call and didn't hesitate. The phone line between he and Fontenot hasn't stopped buzzing since.
It's only been a week and a half, but Morris and Fontenot are visibly close. Morris joked Fontenot looks better in person than on Zoom, and the new coach expressed several times his excitement for taking the next step alongside Fontenot.
But there's more to the job than growing close.
Fontenot said all Blank thinks about is winning; he's one of the most passionate owners in the NFL and will provide whatever is necessary to do exactly that.
Atlanta conducted one of the most expansive searches in league history. It opted for Morris. It's his turn to prove Fontenot, Blank and the rest of the decision makers right.
And by all accounts, his sleepless nights and early-morning texts vindicate that belief, if only for now.
The next step is winning - and Morris, despite only working with Fontenot for 11 days, is ready to do it hand-in-hand with his newfound best friend.
"This job comes with pressure, and it comes with pressure that we're all built for, and you've got to embrace that," Morris said. "You've got to embrace those moments. You've got to want those moments. We've got to live for those moments.
"I don't know about Terry, but I can't wait to go out here and try to win with this man."
