Falcons Coach Morris 'Would Like to Hope' GM Terry Fontenot Returns in 2025

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said he loves working with general manager Terry Fontenot.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has a 29-39 record over the past four seasons. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons' brain trust of head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot each appear poised to return for 2025 after a disappointing 8-9 season.

Morris has effectively been confirmed to return, as he spoke with reporters Monday in Flowery Branch, and Fontenot is scheduled to do the same Thursday.

Most expected Morris, who just completed his first season as Atlanta's head coach, to receive another year. But the conversation wasn't as clear around Fontenot, who holds a 29-39 record through four campaigns as the Falcons' general manager.

[RELATED: Falcons Support Coach Raheem Morris After Playoff-Less Season Ends vs. Panthers]

Morris was asked Monday if he knows for sure that Fontenot will be with the team moving forward, and while he didn't speak in certainty, he gave a strong endorsement about his personal preference.

"I would like to hope so," Morris said. "And for me and Terry, this thing's just getting started, and I love working with him. I love being with him, and obviously, I don't do contracts, but Terry and I have a great working relationship in what we're doing."

Fontenot and Morris hadn't worked together before late January of 2024, when Atlanta hired Morris and retained Fontenot amidst a flurry of staff changes. The two bonded early -- even before Morris moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta.

They shared Zoom calls each day, and while Morris lived in the team's dorms at various points during the offseason, Fontenot would stay in the facility with him. They'd watch tape together and go over different subjects, watching as their conversations grew from players to what the team needed to win each game and how they wanted to present their plan.

Morris said Fontenot has supported him immensely in their first year working together, and he's excited to prove their process will generate better results for an organization now seven years removed from its last playoff appearance.

There's proof in the work, Morris said. Atlanta saw 60 different players take the field, which Morris attributed to Fontenot and his staff's ability to flex players up and down from the practice squad to the active roster and the various moves made each week to try to elevate both.

It was, in Morris's words, a "big time learning curve" for he and Fontenot -- but one he feels showed signs of promise moving forward.

"I thought it couldn't have went better," Morris said, "with the communication, with the clarity, with his ability to communicate to me, his tireless work ethics to bring people in, his staff, all the guys working out people, the amount of people we played on the roster this year."

Morris said he and Fontenot are currently moving forward together in the offseason process and will be together over the next few weeks, talking with plays and communicating expectations for what they want the Falcons to be.

Atlanta's brain trust has stressed collaboration from the moment it was introduced Feb. 5, 2024, and Morris reiterated Monday that everything the Falcons do, he and Fontenot will be right next to each other for it.

And Morris thinks their pairing -- in addition to the rest of the Falcons' front office -- will generate improved results as the Falcons head into 2025.

"It only gets better moving forward with Terry Fontenot and those guys," Morris said, singling out assistant general manager Kyle Smith and vice president of player personnel Ryan Pace, "what they've been able to do because of the tireless effort that they put into it.

"They've just done such a great job of communicating with the coaching staff, our building, our players. It's all one and it's coming together just like you want it to."

And it appears Morris and Fontenot will get another chance in 2025 to prove their process can lead to wins.