Historians, former NFL players discuss diversity, after Falcons hire 1st full time Black coach

ATLANTA — The historic hire of new Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris fueled some conversations about diversity in sports on Friday.

“If you’re in Atlanta, Georgia, you’re talking about this Black Mecca, you’ve got to have a Black coach,” sports historian and journalist Terrence Moore told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington.

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The announcement came down Thursday evening. The hire makes Morris the first Black head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

Morris spent the last three seasons as a defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.

He was previously a coach with the Falcons for six seasons, but never officially made head coach until Thursday.

“The New England Patriots just hired a Black head coach. The Las Vegas Raiders just hired a Black head coach. Then you’ve got all these other Black Coaches like the Pittsburgh stealers, so it’s basically Atlanta catching up with everybody else,” Moore explained.

“It’s a culture builder,” said Assistant Athletic Director for Atlanta Public Schools, Rendell Jackson. “You can tell they were looking for the best candidate and I think they did that.”

Jackson is a University of West Georgia graduate.

He played in the Canadian football league and said he hopes Morris’ hire will serve as an inspiration.

“There is that skill set outside of just the field,” Jackson added.

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Moore said he agreed, but said he will also pay close attention to how Morris leads, particularly regarding racial issues in the NFL.

“Despite the Colin Kaepernick situation, despite the Brian Flores lawsuit which was against the National Football League accusing them of discrimination, the current head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Raheem Morris, has been very silent on those issues. It’s going to be very important for him to speak out on these things if it’s going to have an impact beyond just him being hired as head coach in Atlanta, in order for him to help other people,” Moore said.

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