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NFL NFL Playoff Picture The Falcons fired coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot after Sunday's win over the Saints. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images The Athletic has live coverage of NFL coaching changes.   The Atlanta Falcons fired general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris on Sunday night, hours after the team’s season-ending victory over the New Orleans Saints. The Falcons finished 8-9, tied for first place in the NFC South, though they were eliminated from playoff contention a month ago. Advertisement Morris lasted two seasons in Atlanta, where he served as an assistant coach from 2015 to 2020 and was hired as head coach in 2024. Fontenot’s firing ends a five-year tenure that never produced a playoff appearance — or even a winning record. “I have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward, ” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement released by the team. “The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership. I wish Raheem and Terry the absolute best in their future pursuits. ” Morris’ tenure began with fanfare as Blank expressed confidence that the new coach could return the team to the heights it last reached in 2016, when he was the wide receivers coach and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI. However, he failed to produce a winning record in two seasons for a franchise that has now experienced eight straight losing campaigns. In six seasons as a head coach, including 11 games as Atlanta’s interim head coach in 2020, he compiled a 37-56 record, has yet to lead a team to the playoffs and has had a winning record just once — in 2010 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 10-6 but finished third in the NFC South and missed the postseason. Falcons part ways with head coach Raheem Morris. pic. twitter. com/4WWl9vbk U5 — NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2026 Fontenot joined Atlanta from the archrival Saints in 2021 along with new head coach Arthur Smith. When Smith was fired after the 2023 season, Fontenot was retained and Blank expressed confidence that Fontenot could be part of a turnaround. Instead, the results were more of the same. Advertisement The Falcons won either seven or eight games in each season during Fontenot’s time in charge of the personnel department, and this fall extended the franchise’s streak of consecutive losing seasons to eight. Blank acknowledged during a training camp visit that 2025 would be an important year for his general manager but said he believed the personnel department had done “a tremendous job” of putting the team in position to be competitive. “I think we have the right people, ” he said. “I think they continued to demonstrate that during the offseason. I feel good about them and encouraged about where we are. ” Ultimately, it was that optimism followed by the season’s actual results that convinced Blank that a change was needed. After beating the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 on “Monday Night Football” to improve to 3-2, the Falcons dropped seven of their next eight games and were eliminated from playoff contention with four games remaining in the season. Fontenot understood how important his fifth season in Atlanta would be for his future. “There’s pressure every season. You have to go into every season and expect that, ” he said in August. “All 32 teams have pressure to win. It’s been a number of years, and I totally understand that, but we’re focusing on the job of doing everything we can right now. ” Like Blank, he said he believed the Falcons were on the verge of a breakthrough. “We’re not going to come up here and talk about how good we’re going to be. We’re going to prove it with our actions, ” he said. “Everybody is doing the best we possibly can. We do have faith and confidence in our team, but we have to speak with our results. ” Fontenot had several “hits” during his time in Atlanta. The four defenders picked in the 2025 draft — edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. , safety Xavier Watts and cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. — all had impressive rookie seasons. The selections of Bijan Robinson in the first round in 2023, Drake London in the first round of 2022 and Tyler Allgeier in the fifth round of 2022 will all be remembered fondly. Advertisement However, his overall legacy with the team probably will come down to the fate of two players: tight end Kyle Pitts and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Pitts was the No. 4 selection in Fontenot’s first draft, becoming the first tight end to be picked in the top five, but Pitts had three disappointing seasons after an impressive rookie campaign. Only late in his fifth year did he begin to show flashes that would warrant his draft position, and he is not under contract with the Falcons next season — although they could place the franchise tag on him. Penix was selected eighth in 2024, just weeks after the Falcons had guaranteed fellow quarterback Kirk Cousins $100 million in free agency. After Cousins failed to live up to that contract and was benched in favor of Penix, the young quarterback started 12 games with varying success before being lost to a torn ACL. He is expected to return early in the 2026 season. Fontenot and Morris made clear that Penix would be the team’s starter again upon his return from injury, but their firing means the young quarterback likely will have to prove himself again. According to the team, the search for a new head coach and general manager will begin immediately. ZRG Partners will assist with the head coaching search, while Sportsology Group will assist with the general manager search. The two searches will occur concurrently.