New Falcons head coach has a connection to Kirk Cousins

The Atlanta Falcons are reportedly hiring Raheem Morris to be their new head coach and he has a past working relationship with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Since the start of the 2024 offseason, the Atlanta Falcons have emerged as a strong possibility to sign veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins this year if he doesn't return to the Minnesota Vikings.

The chances of Cousins joining the Falcons for the 2024 campaign were only expected to increase if Atlanta hired Bill Belichick to be their new head coach.

But, in a bit of a surprise, the Falcons are not hiring Belichick. Instead, Atlanta has reportedly decided to fill their head-coaching vacancy with former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins spent early career with Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris

Before he joined the Vikings in 2018, Cousins spent the first six seasons of his NFL career as a member of the Washington Commanders.

During his first three years in Washington, Morris was also a member of the organization as the team's secondary coach.

Now, some might be wondering why it even matters that Morris and Cousins were both with the Commanders for three seasons since the new Falcons head coach has a defensive background.

That's true, but Morris also comes from the Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay coaching tree, so he's likely going to want his offense in Atlanta to run like the ones he's had to coach against in practice for the last few years.

If Morris would like the Falcons to use some of their projected $25.8 million in cap space this offseason to sign a veteran starting quarterback, Cousins might be at the top of his list because of his experience in running the Shanahan and McVay offenses during his career.

There were already a number of connections being made between the Minnesota quarterback and Atlanta before Morris was reportedly hired on Thursday.

In the eyes of some, Belichick not getting the job might have lowered Cousins' chances of signing with the Falcons this year.

But that couldn't be further from the truth, given the offensive scheme that Morris is likely going to want Atlanta to run next season.

So, even though Belichick wasn't the Falcons' final choice, Cousins ending up in Atlanta this offseason is still very much a legitimate possibility.