Raheem Morris could complain, and the Rams defensive coordinator would probably have a receptive audience for his gripes. It’s been just over 10 years since the Buccaneers fired him, and he’s done just about everything possible to build himself back up into the kind of head-coaching candidate anyone would want to hire.
He’s coached offense. He’s coached defense. He’s even had a run as an interim head coach.
More than just that, he’s had time to look in the mirror and evaluate what went wrong for him the first time around, when he got his first shot at 32 and was let go at 35.
But early on this warm Southern California morning, Morris wasn’t going to do that. Even if Morris still has all the qualities that made him such a bright young candidate in 2009, the football mind and irrepressible energy that prompted the Bucs to promote their secondary coach to defensive coordinator, then to head coach in one fell swoop. And even if Morris has gained so much knowledge and wisdom since then.
“It’s actually weird, because I don’t really think about it,” Morris said over the phone, from the team facility in Thousand Oaks. “I always thought of myself to be fortunate in any way to be anything in this league. … You never really take that for granted, you just look at the opportunities you’ve gotten, look at the opportunities that you’ve had. And I’ve been fortunate enough to have three interviews since I was fired.
“So I never really thought about it being so long because I don’t take that for granted. I think it’s an honor and a privilege to be a head coach in the National Football League. Those times, those moments will come. I got fortunate enough to have them when I was young. But I never take that for granted. Or take it for granted that it was going to happen again or that I was going to have another opportunity soon enough.”
Accordingly, as the sun rose Thursday, Morris was looking forward to getting on the grass with Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd and Von Miller at the Rose Bowl. He was looking forward to fine-tuning a game plan to get after Joe Burrow and the Bengals. He was looking forward to coaching in the Super Bowl down the road at SoFi Stadium.
And even if he won’t say it, it’s obvious he should have a lot more to look forward to.
