A month and a half into Morris’ first offseason with Atlanta, he and Fontenot signed free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million in guarantees. A month and a half later, the Falcons used the No. 8 overall pick in 2024 on QB Michael Penix Jr., a shocking move that surprised even Cousins, who was coming off a torn Achilles but transferred from Minnesota to Atlanta expecting to be the guy.
Cousins started the ’24 season but looked much diminished from his finer efforts with the Vikings, throwing for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with an 88.6 passer rating. Much of his production also came early. He faded down the stretch and threw zero touchdowns in a four-game losing streak as the 6-3 Falcons fell to 6-7. After a poor performance in the Week 15 win, Cousins was replaced by Penix.
Penix was serviceable in the team’s final three games of his rookie season, highlighted by a 312-yard, two-touchdown performance in the finale, providing optimism that the Falcons could move forward with a faster QB lineup. Even better, the 2024 Falcons under Morris finished 8-9, the organization’s best record in six years.
However, another jump in victories did not follow. Penix showed flashes this season, but his play was inconsistent and headed for poor, and by the time he suffered a season-ending partially torn ACL, he had lost four straight — just like Cousins had at the end of his run as a starter the year before.
Cousins took over again in Week 12, and by Week 14, the Falcons were ousted from the playoffs, staring at an offseason that would require an altered preparation due to Penix’s injury.
After two years, Atlanta’s two paths to success under center instead resulted in double dead ends and identical 8-9 records.
Defense also proved to be a problem for much of Morris’ tenure, a flaw that made it his specialty.
In his first year, the Falcons finished 23rd in both points and yards allowed under then-defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. The team ranked 22nd against the pass and gave up the second-most TDs through the air, largely because they generated so little pressure — Atlanta finished 31st with 31 sacks.
Morris fired Lake and replaced him with Jeff Ulbrich. The progress was especially evident in the first half of the season, a shift that was partly due to a night-and-day difference in sacks thanks to the young, emerging core of James Pearce Jr., Brandon Dorlus and Jalon Walker. The Falcons finished with 57 (second in the NFL).
The defensive performance declined as the year progressed, mostly on Atlanta’s aforementioned losing streak, which led to a team that finished pretty average overall. It was an improvement from Morris’ first year, but not to the point of preventing another midseason slump.
That’s how the story was for the past few years.
Morris led the Falcons to some notable highlights, but couldn’t put anything together with enough consistency. On both sides of the Week 5 bye this season, Atlanta made statements – first with a 34-27 win over the Commanders before the wheels fell off in Washington, and then with a 24-14 win against the Bills as the defense was suffocating. The Falcons also closed the season on a four-game winning streak that included overcoming a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Buccaneers in Week 15 and put a dent in Matthew Stafford’s MVP chances while chasing the quarterback in a Week 17 upset of the Rams.
In between, it was largely another frustrating season for the Falcons, whose late-season revival was too little, too late and will now be looking for their fourth different head coach this decade.
The pieces are certainly there to attract quality coaches and performance candidates — namely, the aforementioned front seven recruits, cornerback AJ Terrell, running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London. Many of them were added by Fontenot, even if he could not find the right equation for a winner. Questions remain over much of the roster and at the all-important quarterback position.
For a club currently tied for the second-longest playoff drought in franchise history, the results will have to follow whatever answers the head coaching duo comes up with.