Raheem Morris is headed back to Atlanta with a defense built to make Michael Penix Jr. uncomfortable.
On Sunday, the former Falcons head coach returns as the defensive coordinator for an unbeaten San Francisco 49ers team that is trying to keep rolling while putting Penix and Atlanta into a third straight loss. The matchup carries an obvious layer of familiarity: Morris was part of the leadership group that helped make Penix the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
The Falcons also know Morris well from his two seasons running the team. He went 16-18 before he and general manager Terry Fontenot were fired on Jan. 5 after an 8-9 finish in 2025, Atlanta’s eighth straight losing season. Even so, Morris is expected to get a warm welcome from a fan base and a locker room that clearly respected him.
“Its going to be exciting,” Penix said. “It’s going to be good to be able to see him again, but we got to find a way to obviously put points on the board against his defense.”
That will be easier said than done. San Francisco enters at 6-0, while Atlanta sits at 2-4 and is trying to stop an ugly two-game skid. Penix, now 2-2 as a starter this season and 6-10 overall, has already dealt with plenty of heat in the pocket - and the 49ers figure to bring more of it.
Last week against Chicago, Penix was sacked five times and coughed up the ball twice, losing one, in a 31-23 defeat. The Falcons fell behind 14-0 before they even picked up a first down and trailed 31-7 before finally finding some rhythm in their two-minute offense late in the game.
Morris made clear Thursday that he and Fontenot believed Penix could become Atlanta’s franchise quarterback once he settled in behind Kirk Cousins. He also left no doubt that the rookie had earned his respect.
“Loved the kid, loved everything about him,” Morris said of Penix. “The personality, who he was, the thrower. ...
He’s back healthy and he’s probably everything that you thought and hoped for as far as being a play-action passer, a guy that can push the ball down the field, can make all the throws, go through the whole process. Just one of those guys that I have a lot of appreciation for and love for.”
Penix’s health has been part of the story, too. He left a 30-23 overtime loss to Baltimore on Oct 11 in the fourth quarter because of a rib injury.
He also missed the first two games of the season while recovering from ACL surgery on his left knee. The knee has not given him any setbacks, but he has taken nine sacks over four games.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said he understands the emotional angle, even if he expects his players to stay locked in on the task at hand.
“I don’t think they can be more motivated,” Shanahan said. ”I think our guys are as motivated as you can get each week.
I don’t think they get too caught up in that stuff, but I know they care about Raheem a lot and definitely would want to do that for him. But I don’t think we’re looking at too much of a personal game like that.”
Atlanta’s best answer may be to keep itself out of passing downs where the pressure can pin its offense back. Penix said the Falcons need to clean up the details and win early.
“We’ve just got to be dominant on those early downs ... and got to be great in our execution,” Penix said. “All the small details, whatever it is that we haven’t been doing right these last couple games, and just figuring that out and get back to playing our football.”
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