After being fired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers January 2 Raheem Morris quickly landed on his feet taking a position on Redskins coach Mike Shanahan’s staff in Washington.

Source: Rick Stroud Tampa Bay Times
Raheem Morris' quick rise from defensive quality control assistant to head coach with the Bucs might be one of the NFL's best examples of someone working their way from the bottom to the top. Wednesday, Morris agreed to coach defensive backs for the Redskins.

Morris interviewed with the Vikings about becoming their defensive coordinator. He said he has had no further contact with them and didn't want to make the Redskins wait.

Morris, also the Bucs' defensive coordinator, said Redskins coach Mike Shanahan will allow him to seek opportunities as a coordinator next season.


PR’s Take: Raheem Morris could have easily sat back and collected a cool $2 million from the Glazers, hung out at Monte Kiffin’s beach house drinking adult beverages while hanging on the deck with former players and reflecting on his three seasons as Buccaneers head coach and where it all went wrong. But Morris constantly talked to the media this season about his life being basically just football. By taking a job right away instead of taking some time off, Morris showed he was serious when making those statements.

Reportedly Morris interviewed to be the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings this week but apparently decided a firm offer as a defensive backs coach is better than a maybe-so offer that might not materialize for a coordinator position.

I believe Morris made the right decision taking this opportunity with the Redskins and reuniting with former Buccaneers general manager Bruce Allen. Taking a major demotion certainly is a blow to the ego but in the long run it will accomplish two things. First, Morris will be able to get back to the fundamentals of coaching without the pressures of running an entire organization. And secondly Morris is proving to future potential bosses that he isn’t above starting from the bottom as a position coach.