NEWTON’S NOTEBOOK: It had to be done. Falcons take two steps forward in firing Raheem Morris, Terry Fontenot

Sunday was just like every other season-ending week for Atlanta Falcons fans.

Win a meaningless game? Express your displeasure about not making the playoffs again? Check. The obligatory “Thank you Falcons fans” social media post? You bet.

After these three important items, I retired from watching football for the evening and was getting ready for the week ahead. 

Arthur Blank, however, had other plans for all of the Falcons fans.

It seems like my letter to Mr. Blank didn’t get left on delivered, because as of Sunday evening, Raheem Morris is no longer the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. As an added bonus, the Falcons fired General Manager Terry Fontenot minutes later, signaling a clean house.

There’s a lot to unpack here, as this is all fresh in the minds of Falcons fans. But my first thought was, “Dang, we didn’t even wait until Monday?
This alone tells me that Blank didn’t make this decision today. This was made weeks ago.

Blank isn’t known for making midseason changes – hence why Morris and Fontenot remained in power – but after hiring the consulting firm Sportology, it seemed like some changes were on the horizon. 

A lot of us were led to believe that Morris wouldn’t be among the changes. Multiple reports suggested that Morris had done enough to earn a third season at the helm and that Fontenot would be the odd man out. The fact that the usually patient Blank made this decision before “black Monday” tells you everything you need to know.

Now let’s get to Morris. His two years can only be summarized into one word: Disappointment.

When Morris returned to Atlanta, many fans, including myself, were excited to see what he could do. He was a beloved figure during his first tenure in Atlanta, and it seemed like he’d have a solid connection with the players.

Instead, it was clear that Morris was way over his head. 

Despite having previous head coaching experience, his lack of game preparation, clock management skills and personnel selection were the downfall for what was otherwise a fairly talented team. 

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and special teams Coordinator Marquice Williams should’ve been gone midway through this season. Ike Hilliard, the wide receivers coach, probably shouldn’t have ever been fired. And Jeff Ulbrich, who wound up having the best season as Falcons defensive coordinator, was a questionable pickup from the get-go.

If there’s one thing that this season has proved, it is that coaching matters. Look at New England. Look at Jacksonville. Look at Chicago. Look at Seattle. The list goes on and on.

It would’ve been incredibly irresponsible of Blank to retain Morris after how frustrating 2025 was. The amazing part in all of this is that one more victory would’ve allowed the Falcons to break through to the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Instead, we remained at the same mediocre level we’ve found ourselves in for years.

The question that Blank had to ask himself at the end of the day was this: Keep Morris and remain in mediocrity? Or start fresh and inspire hope within the fanbase. I was worried that it’d be the former. Thankfully, it’s the latter.

Firing Morris after beating the Saints would’ve been most Falcons fans’ dream. But Blank added the cherry on top by dismissing Fontenot.

I have long been a critic of Fontenot after he orchestrated one of the worst deals in Falcons history in signing Kirk Cousins. Then, he immediately drafted Michael Penix Jr., who isn’t looking like the franchise quarterback either. Along with letting other guys like Nate Landman and Foye Oluokun walk, I thought he should’ve been let go in 2024.

Instead, Blank gave him one more year. And he delivered.

Drafting Jalon Walker, then trading for James Pearce Jr. and Xavier Watts wound up being his best draft class as a general manager. When you add in notable offseason additions like Divine Deablo, Fontenot certainly could’ve earned another year in my book.

But if you recall what I said back in April 2025, it was clear that Fontenot was going all in this season. He pushed his chips to the middle of the table and hoped for the best. 

There are only two things that happen when you go all in. You win big and keep playing, or you lose everything. In the end, Fontenot wound up losing it all – albeit in a far more valiant effort than Morris.

Now, we will have a slew of questions that need answering in the coming days and weeks ahead. Who’s the new head coach going to be? Who’s the new general manager going to be? Will Rich McKay stay involved with the team? Will Matt Ryan be brought in a front office role?

All of these questions and more will be answered; some likely before this column gets printed. For now, though, all I can say is thank you. Thank you, Arthur Blank, for doing the right thing for this franchise and for the fans.

It had to be done.

***

As I expected, more changes have been made.

On Monday morning, the Falcons announced that Greg Beadles has been promoted to CEO of the Atlanta Falcons. Former CEO and longtime Falcons executive Rich McKay is no longer with the team and will instead shift his focus to Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment. 

Out of all the moves that were overdue, this was the one. McKay should’ve been done with the Falcons a long time ago, and the team will enjoy some fresh leadership in his absence.

Blank also announced in a letter pinned to the fans that he would be hiring a new president of football operations. That person is expected to be none other than Falcons all-time great Matt Ryan.

I don’t know how well he’ll do in this role, but I can guarantee that there are few people more qualified in terms of knowing what it takes to be a Falcon. This should be exciting.

Evan Newton is the managing editor of The Covington News. He can be reached at enewton@covnews.com.