Morris quickly rose through the coaching ranks and was Tampa Bay’s head coach from 2009 to 2011. Quinn got his chance with the Falcons in 2015 after serving as coordinator of Seattle’s storied “Legion of Boom” defense.

Both had to spend some more time in the assistant coaching ranks before getting the chance to become head coach again in 2024, Morris with the Falcons and Quinn with the Commanders.

“Now I am fortunate enough to be the head coach of this great league and have the opportunity to compete at a very high level and with high stakes on the field and in prime time,” Morris said. “I just enjoy those moments where I’m competing against people that you care about and I enjoy those moments.”

But it has become dark.

“This week, man, he has to be a nameless gray face,” said Morris, who played at Hofstra from 1994 to 1997 and was a graduate assistant in 1998. “We have to go out there and get a win.”

Quinn, who was an assistant coach at Hofstra from 1996 to 2000, and Morris exchange text messages during normal weeks. But this is not a normal week. Morris will not speak to Quinn or send him a message.

“I’m going to ban him this week,” Morris said. “I’m going to block him on my phone.”

Quinn will also remain silent this week, but he was elated when he saw Morris get the job with the Falcons.

“Every now and then you get the right person at the right time for the right job,” Quinn said. “This is Raheem in Atlanta. He was always the right one. This is the right time for him, there, in this city, with this team. I can imagine that this team will also be followed with a certain amount of energy in Atlanta.”

Morris served on Quinn’s staff with the Falcons in various capacities. Quinn clearly trusted Morris with the offensive, defensive and assistant head coaching duties.

“He has those rare skills: street and soccer skills, connectivity (and) soccer sense,” Quinn said. “A lot of people know it in the book but can’t teach it.

“There are a lot of people who know how to play but can’t articulate it. Rah is the rare person who can motivate you. He can talk tough. Whatever it takes to help a player reach their potential. He’s the type of person you want to be like.”

Morris and Quinn both have rookie quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Jayden Daniels. They haven’t discussed what they’ll do with their first-round picks.

“That hasn’t come up yet,” Morris said. “That’s a good question, but that’s not the case. Obviously, all of these things came up during the draft, but no one wants to tell anyone anything. We all have our secrets until we shocked the world with Pick 8. But no one really talks about these things.”

After Quinn was fired five games into the 2020 season, Morris took over as interim head coach. He went to the Rams and helped them win a Super Bowl as defensive coordinator.

He was hired as Arthur Smith’s replacement last season.

While playing for the Rams and Cowboys, Morris and Quinn faced each other twice.

“We played the Cowboys, I want to say that twice,” Morris said. “It could only be once, but definitely once. They kicked our butts a little bit last year.”

The Cowboys won 43-20 in Dallas on October 29, 2023.

Both are enjoying their return to the head coaching ranks.

“Man, it’s always fun to play against your friends, your confidants, your mentors – however you want to look at it – that we grew up with throughout the whole process,” Morris said. “You know, Dan coached me in college and then had a chance to work together and then really follow the same path to the National Football League.”

But they will put all that history aside and try to make a move into the playoffs.