Seahawks Coach Search: Could Rams DC Raheem Morris be the pick?

Jan 23, 2024, 1:09 AM

seattle seahawks coach candidate raheem morris...

Rams DC Raheem Morris greets Broncos head coach Sean Payton after a 2023 preseason game. (Tyler Schank/Getty Images)

(Tyler Schank/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports Contributor

Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob continued their push on Monday afternoon to learn more about each reported Seattle Seahawks head coach candidate by talking to NFL analysts and broadcasters from around the league.

Next coach up: Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

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Former UW Huskies and NFL defensive tackle D’Marco Farr, who is now a Rams sideline reporter, joined the show to discuss the 47-year-old Morris’ motivational style, offensive philosophy, and why players and coaches love him.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider plans to bring Morris in for a second interview this week, according to reports. But Morris appears to be in high demand after three seasons working under Rams coach Sean McVay. Morris also has interviews lined up with the Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.

You can listen to the full interview at this podcast link or in the player below. In the meantime, here are three things you should know about Morris.

1. Like the last Seattle Seahawks coach, Morris is a motivator.

In Pete Carroll, the Seahawks had a coach known as much for memorable locker room speeches as his X’s and O’s. Carroll’s “Can you win the game in the first quarter?” monologue immediately comes to mind.

If the Seahawks choose Morris, they would be getting another coach who knows how to motivate his players, albeit in a different style than Carroll.

“He is definitely a motivational guy,” Farr said of Morris. “He’s got that. He’s got a lot of swag. He’s the first coach I’ve ever seen that actually wore Air Jordans onto a practice field, but he can pull it off. He’s that sort of guy.”

This past season, the Rams’ defense ranked in the middle of the pack in the NFL, yielding an average of 337.9 yards and 22.2 points per game, which ranked 20th and 19th overall, respectively. But it was expected to be a rebuilding a year after Los Angeles lost Jalen Ramsey and Leonard Floyd the previous offseason. Instead of a rebuild, Morris tutored a young defense that did just enough to help the Rams make a surprise run to the postseason, losing to the Detroit Lions by one point in the wild card round.

“It’s a sad moment that the Rams are losing their some of their good coaches,” Farr said. “But it is what it is when you have a guy that’s that good, that can be a leader when jobs are available. He’s gonna be up for pretty much all of them.”

2. He would need to develop an offensive identity.

Morris spent three years as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, going 3-13 in 2009, 10-6 in 2010 and 4-12 in 2011. He also spent part of 2020 as the interim head coach for the Falcons, going 4-7.

During his stint in Tampa Bay, Morris hired Greg Olson, the Seahawks’ quarterback coach this past season, as his offensive coordinator. Olson had limited success with quarterback Josh Freeman during his three-year stint, never ranking higher than 20th in points per game.

It’s unclear what type of offense Morris would try to bring to Seattle, according to Farr. But he won’t have any problem with holding players to a high standard.

“As far as what he’s going to use offensively, I don’t know,” Farr said. “I do know he’s coached both sides of the football. He’s coached on the offensive side and it’s helped him become a better defensive coach, a better defensive coordinator.”

“But as far as leading men getting in front of the room and setting goals and keeping guys you know, holding guys accountable, he can do that,” he added. “He’s got that head coach swag.”

3. Bobby Wagner, Jalen Ramsey and Sean McVay all endorse Morris.

It’s unclear if Bobby Wagner, a free agent this offseason, will return in 2024 for the Seahawks, but the 33-year-old veteran linebacker has indicated he doesn’t want to retire. He also expressed support for Morris already on X earlier this month after playing in 2022 for the defensive coordinator during his one season in Los Angeles.

Add me too

— Bobby Wagner (@Bwagz) January 13, 2024

“Bobby Wagner has nothing but good things to say about Raheem Morris,” Farr said. “Jalen Ramsey, same thing. These are top-flight guys that learned something from Raheem Morris. That’s something you don’t hear from veteran guys all that often. So whoever gets him, you get one (heck) of a coach. I do know that.”

McVay has already acknowledged publicly that Morris could leave this offseason, saying the opportunity is long overdue. The pair have had a short but highly successful tenure together, leading the Rams to a win in Super Bowl LVI two years ago.

Farr said Morris is similar to McVay when it comes to how they approach football.

“I do know that he knows how to identify talent as far as coaching up-and-coming talent, and he hires guys that are just like him,” Farr said of McVay. “And when I mean just like him, I mean football is everything and anything to that person, so you got to be 24/7 with him. Raheem Morris definitely fits that.”