49ers' Kyle Shanahan Says Falcons' Raheem Morris was 'Way Past Due' to Get HC Job | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan believes that Raheem Morris landing his first head coaching job since 2011 is long overdue.

Morris was hired as the Atlanta Falcons head coach Thursday after spending the past three seasons as the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator. Shanahan, who worked with Morris several different times throughout their respective careers, had high praise for Morris following the move, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"Oh, it's way past due. 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 D-Coordinator. He ended up becoming a head coach so fast. Then I got a chance to work with him in Washington. Then Atlanta, he actually was on defense."

While in Atlanta alongside Shanahan, Morris transitioned from a defensive position to working with the offense. Shanahan commended the way he was able to make the switch.

"He got to come work with me on offense for a year," Shanahan said. "The fact that he was on defense his whole career and can came to be our receiver coach, it was unbelievable how cool he was. How good he did. Always tried to get him here every single year."

Now making his return to a head coaching position, Shanahan has no doubt Morris will have success.

"But Raheem's been one of the best," Shanahan said. "He's going to 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."

Morris' first and only head coaching stint came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009 when he was just 32 years old. Morris didn't find much success with Bucs in his three years at the helm, missing the playoffs all three seasons, and he ultimately went back to assistant coaching duties after the 2011 season.

Since 2012, he has served several different teams in assistant coaching roles. He was with Atlanta from 2015 to 2020, taking on interim coaching duties in the 2020 season. Now, he's back with the Falcons and looking for more success in his second stint as a head coach.

The Falcons haven't reached the postseason since 2017 and haven't had a winning record in that same time period. With a proven coach taking over, Atlanta is looking to snap both of those ugly streaks.

For Shanahan, he has a big game ahead of him on Sunday. The 49ers will take on the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. San Francisco has looked like the powerhouse of the conference this season behind Shanahan, and the 49ers are searching for a second Super Bowl appearance during his tenure as head coach.

As Morris gets settled in with the Falcons and Shanahan looks for another win, the two former colleagues will likely be rooting for mutual success.