Rams GM endorses Morris amid coaching talks

LOS ANGELES — Rams general manager Les Snead began his end-of-season news conference with an unprompted endorsement of defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who is interviewing for several head coach openings.

Morris, who has been the Rams’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, has been a head coach twice before: with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011 and as the Atlanta Falcons‘ interim coach in 2020.

Before he took questions Friday, Snead said he wanted to talk about Morris “because I know he’s interviewing for just about every head-coaching job in the NFL right now.”

Morris has interviewed with or been requested for an interview by the Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Chargers and Falcons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Last offseason, Morris interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts for their head coach opening.

“No. 1, I think we all know, [he’s a] great human being,” Snead said. “The guy is coded to respect everyone, to build a relationship with everyone no matter where you’re at in the organization. What’s awesome is, as he does that, you just see the respect flow back in his direction. He’s coded for that. It’s a superpower that I think would help any organization.”

Rams coach Sean McVay said when he interviewed Morris for the defensive coordinator position in 2021, he spent time trying to convince Morris to take the Rams job instead of going to Jacksonville to coach the Jaguars.

“But what I remember is as soon as we were able to get him on board, there was an immediate excitement from everybody that he touched in this building, whether it be players, coaches [or] staff,” McVay said. “And he’s got that magnetism about him where he is just saying something’s different about this guy and he’s really special.”

Morris, who was the team’s defensive coordinator when it won Super Bowl LVI, helped the Rams reach the playoffs in a season in which they chose to move on from several veteran defensive players and instead lean on rookies. The Rams traded star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins and parted ways with linebacker Bobby Wagner, linebacker Leonard Floyd, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson and nose tackle Greg Gaines.

Snead pointed to Morris’ “unique football acumen,” because he has coached in both defensive and offensive rooms, something “not many coaches on the planet” can say.

“He’s going to give any organization an edge just how collaborative he is,” Snead said. “It’s going to be an edge that most teams aren’t going to be able to compete with. I know this, he’ll be able to hire an unbelievable staff. Every coach who’s any good, who’s qualified, they’re going to want to work for Raheem. And I’m pretty sure there’ll be a lot of tampering charges because just about every player in the NFL’s going to text him and want to come play for him.”

Perhaps most importantly for a head-coaching candidate, Morris is “a phenomenal leader,” McVay said.

“He always had such a unique way about leading,” McVay said. “The guy has never had a bad day in his life, and then you get around him and you’re thinking, ‘Yeah, you can’t be like this all the time.’ And you’re like, ‘Holy … he really is like this all the time.’ He’s just got such great energy that’s so authentic. He can be demanding on people.

“He’s just such a great person. He has got such an incredible high capacity for this game and the ability to be able to teach in a digestible manner. I can’t say enough good things about him in terms of what he’s meant to me.”

The Rams would receive a third-round compensatory pick for two years if Morris is hired by another team as part of the Rooney Rule.