ATLANTA — With the hiring of Raheem Morris announced on Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons have a permanent Black head coach for the first time.
"It's incredible," former Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu Sr. said, reacting to the news with 11Alive's Maria Martin.
Morris has previously been the interim head coach for Atlanta, in 2020, and the team had its first Black head coach when Emmittt Thomas also assumed the interim role in 2007.
But Thomas was only in the position for four games, and Morris for 11 a few years ago -- not even a full season's worth of time between them. The chance to embrace a Black head coach as the figurehead of the Falcons for the long-term will be different for fans, Sanu said.
"It means a lot, means a lot, especially to a majority Black community, Black fanbase, Black city," the receiver, who played with the Falcons from 2016-19, said. "It's exciting for the city of Atlanta to have somebody that thinks, looks, comes from where they come from, understands what they're going through."
Morris was the Falcons wide receivers coach for much of his time in Atlanta, and worked closely with Sanu. The former receiver was glowing in his endorsement of Morris' coaching ability.
"He had a very big impact on me, his ability to communicate, his ability to get the best out of his guys and knowing how to connect at a deeper level," he said.
Sanu added he was "overjoyed" when he heard the news about the Falcons hiring Morris.
"Just really feel happiness for him, because I know he's well-deserving of the job and the impact he's gonna have on the players, and I know what he's gonna do for the organization and the community," he said. "It's gonna be an exciting time in Atlanta to see the energy restored to how it's supposed to be."