FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Marquice Williams has been in this position before.
And no, not just as the Falcons special teams coordinator, a job he retained under new head coach Raheem Morris. This isn't the first time Williams stayed on with a franchise through a coaching change.
In 2017, Williams transferred onto Anthony Lynn's staff with the Chargers as an assistant special teams coach after the team parted ways with former coach Mike McCoy.
"It's hard in the NFL to maintain a job," Williams said Wednesday afternoon as Falcons coordinators were made available to the media. "You could get fixated on that or you could work on staying in the present and getting better."
Williams stayed present, and took the opportunity to stay in Atlanta under Morris' new staff despite reported interest from other teams.
The 38-year-old coach took over as special teams coordinator in 2021, and now he'll enter his fourth season at the position. During his time in Atlanta, Williams has led an effective unit. The Falcons ranked top-10 in the NFL in field goals made this past season thanks to the kicking leg of Younghoe Koo. In 2022, Atlanta topped the league in average punt yards with return man Avery Williams.
Now, the coordinator will get the chance to take his unit to the next level under Morris. Williams said he hadn't had much interaction with Morris before deciding to stay on the new staff, but the two have already gotten to work.
Williams said he's in the process of adapting to Morris' philosophy, which was something he learned to do from his last transitional period seven years ago.
"I got the opportunity to stay in the same building, but learn a new philosophy," Williams said. "That was awesome."
Williams knows there are no shortcuts to relationships, but he noted the process has been open and collaborative. Something Morris preached in his own introductory press conference.
"That's real, it's very collaborative," Williams said. "When we leave that room we're leaving with one answer, but it's OK to disagree about certain things and have your why's and why you want to do certain things. ... It's a great energy."
Williams rattled off a full breakdown of the 2023 unit in that while the Falcons didn't have the best statistical season, he saw significant growth from the unit as they battled the injury bug from start to finish.
In what's typically an introductory press conference, Williams was already in midseason form because, again, he's been here before.
"I don't take these opportunities lightly," Williams said. "...That's something that somebody can't take away from you — your knowledge and your experience."
