Falcons’ Raheem Morris eager to go against mentor Jon Gruden

Atlanta Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris didn’t go to Harvard after high school. He went to Hofstra, an FCS school on Long Island where he started three years at defensive back and first flashed a penchant for coaching.

But he did attend what he called the football version of Harvard in 2002 in Tampa, Florida. And he eagerly learned from some of the football’s finest coaches, er professors — day after day after day.

“You’re talking about (legendary defensive coordinator) Monte Kiffin,” Morris enthusiastically recalled. “You’re talking about (eventual Super Bowl champion) Mike Tomlin. You’re talking about (Rams linebackers coach) Joe Barry.”

And, yes, you’re talking about Raiders coach Jon Gruden.

Pupil will met professor again Sunday inside Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium, where Morris’ Falcons will play Gruden’s Raiders, marking their first meeting as head coaches following six years alongside one another. Morris was christened as an NFL assistant coach in 2002 by Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hired him away from Hofstra as a precocious defensive quality control coach.

Morris said coaching under Gruden at Tampa Bay was the “greatest time” of his life and said he is eager to compete against his former mentor for the first time. Gruden is equally excited, noting that he roots for Morris every week — except this one.

“He wants that head coaching job, and he might just darn sure deserve it the way that I know him, the way this team is playing,” Gruden said, publicly endorsing Morris’ candidacy as Atlanta’s permanent coach. “I can’t wait to see him. I can’t wait to compete against him. I know he’s going to have those guys ready to go.”

From player to coach

Morris was a first-year defensive backs coach at Hofstra in 2000 when he told more experienced colleagues during a coaches meeting that “they’d all be working for me someday anyway.”

That’s according to former Hofstra defensive coordinator Greg Gigantino, whom Morris played for from 1994-97 and coached under just a few years later.

“He’s always had a good heart. And he was always very into anything as far as the game,” Gigantino said. “You hate to use cliches, but it was like having a coach on the field. That’s for real with him. He was always a great kid to be around.”

Morris started three years at Hofstra, blending a cerebral approach with an unrivaled passion for the sport. Gigantino said Morris was among the first to befriend junior college transfer turned Hofstra All-American safety Lance Schulters, whom he helped teach the program’s defensive schemes.

Schulters would go on to become a fourth-round pick in the 1998 NFL draft, while Morris would start working that year as a graduate assistant for his alma mater. He followed Gigantinto in 1999 to Cornell to coach defensive backs and returned in 2000 to Hofstra, where he’d also coach defensive backs full-time — and where the New York Jets used to conduct training camp.

Gigantino remembered Morris sprinting down the practice field one afternoon to celebrate a big play with his defensive backs. Former Jets coach Herman Edwards just so happened to be there and was impressed with Morris’ enthusiasm. So he invited him to intern with New York during its organized team activities and eventually recommended him for a vacancy on Tampa Bay’s staff before the 2002 NFL season.

“Two days later, he’s on a plane to Tampa,” Gigantino remembered. “I hate to use another cliche, but the rest is history.”

Morris has been a fixture in the NFL ever since, leaving only to become Kansas State’s defensive coordinator during the 2006 season. He’s steeled and experienced now, privy to the workings of the NFL. But Gigantino still sees shades of the excitable player turned coach who’d sprint down the sideline to be with his players.

“He’s never down in the dumps. … That’s the way he is,” said Gigantino, whose daughter, Sara, works for the Falcons as the head coach operations coordinator. “He’s always looking for the good part. I’m knocking on wood that it works out for him, either in Atlanta or somewhere else.”

Full circle

Morris was a defensive coach by trade, but he’d try to finish his daily duties as quickly as possible so he could attend Gruden’s quarterback meetings.

“He was always efficient. He was always prepared,” Morris said of Gruden. “It always felt like it was the best meeting you’d ever gone to in your life.”

Morris was elevated to a defensive assistant at Tampa Bay in 2oo3 and assistant defensive backs coach in 2004 and 2005. He returned to Tampa Bay to coach defensive backs and in 2007 and 2008 and was elevated to head coach in 2009 after Gruden was fired.

“He related to everybody,” said University of Washington coach Jimmy Lake, who coached under Gruden and Morris in Tampa Bay. “He really made the meetings knowledgeable engaging and fun. And the players just loved playing for him.”

The Buccaneers struggled in Morris’ first season, finishing 3-13 amid a myriad of offensive woes. They were 10-6 in 2010 but struggled again in 2011, finishing 4-12, which ultimately led to Morris’ dismissal.

He caught on, though, with the Washington Football Team, where coached from 2012-14. He joined Atlanta’s staff in 2015, coaching defensive backs, wide receivers and coordinating the defense until coach Dan Quinn was fired in October.

Morris has reinvigorated the Falcons after their 0-5 start and holds a 3-2 record as he angles to keep the job. Another win Sunday would help his cause.

Albeit at Gruden’s expense.

“The love for him, I can’t even express,” Morris said. “You’re talking about one of the legendary coaches in the game, in my opinion.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.