After the Atlanta Falcons hired Jeff Ulbrich to be their defensive coordinator, a lot of Falcons fans felt the hire was too comfortable and too easy because of the duo's time in Atlanta when they were a part of Dan Quinn’s regime, so they criticized Raheem Morris and the organization. The Morning Shift explained why Ulbrich and Morris’ relationship will make the Falcons defense better.
“Real friends will not mince words with you," Beau Morgan said. "They will tell you exactly what they think, especially when their ass is on the line too because those are the relationships that last, are the people that are gonna be honest and tell you the truth, and that’s what I see these two being more than 'oh I don’t care what you did it didn’t work, but you’re still my boy and I love you and at the end of the day we’ll be okay.' That’s not how it works in this league, or if it does you’ve hired the wrong people.”
When asked about his relationship with Morris, Ulbrich said “watching us operate on a daily basis you might think that we hate each other you know because there is complete honesty and transparency in everything that we do, football, in life, in everything you know. So with that type of relationship we’re going to be able to eliminate each other’s blind spots because there’s such an element of truth in everything that we say and do with each other. And that’s necessary to create this thing the right way you can’t be sensitive, and you can’t be worried about people's feelings. We’ve got to get it right and we gotta get it right now.”
Now knowing how Ulbrich describes his relationship with Morris, Falcons fans should believe the new DC when he says their relationship is “going to be a big part of the reason that it does work.”
Also, after hearing Ulbrich describe the type of relationship he and Morris have, maybe Falcons fans should look at the situation differently if they still believe this was a comfortable and safe hire by the Falcons. Would Morris be able to have the same type of conversations he and Ulbrich can have with somebody that he hasn’t worked with, doesn’t really know, or have that type of relationship with?
Maybe instead of looking at Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich’s relationship as the reason that the Ulbrich hire is just a good or okay hire, their relationship should be looked at as the reason it’s a great hire and not just a good hire.