49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan on Raheem Morris Falcons Hire: ‘Way Past Due!’

Former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had a strong reaction to his former employer hiring Raheem Morris as their next coach.

Even as San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was preparing for his team to host the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, he found time to endorse his former employer's new coach. 

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Shanahan -- who spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator before the 49ers hired him -- spoke glowingly this week when asked about Raheem Morris getting a chance to be the team's next coach. 

"Oh, it's way past due," Shanahan said of Morris getting a second shot to be a coach. 

Morris and Shanahan first worked together on Jon Gruden's staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the mid-2000s, before overlapping with the Washington franchise and the Falcons. Shanahan came away impressed the most by Morris' ability to transition to the offensive side of the ball on Dan Quinn's staff in Atlanta nearly a decade ago. 

"Raheem's one of the best coaches I've been with," Shanahan said. "I got to work with him earlier in my career in Tampa. When I was young, I was trying to get my dad to hire him as a defensive coordinator.

"He ended up becoming a head coach so fast," Shanahan continued. "Then I got a chance to work with him in Washington. Then Atlanta, he actually was on defense. He got to come work with me on offense for a year. The fact that he was on defense his whole career and could come to be our receiver coach, it was unbelievable how cool he was, how good he did." 

Morris did get his first shot to be a coach in his early 30s, succeeding the aforementioned Gruden with the Buccaneers from 2009-2011. He may have been too green at the time, but there also wasn't a ton of talent to work with, which contributed to a 17-31 record. Morris has nearly a decade-and-a-half of experience since then, including taking over an 0-5 Falcons team in 2020, and going 4-7 as the interim coach. 

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Shanahan was never able to get Morris on his staff with the 49ers, but he'e excited for the opportunity his long-time friend now has with the Falcons. 

"[I] always tried to get him here [San Francisco] every year. But Raheem's one of the best. He's going to a hell of an organization, a good situation with good people. I'm really happy for Atlanta that they got him, and more than happy for Raheem," Shanahan said.