FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The New Orleans Saints will play their first game under interim head coach Darren Rizzi after firing Dennis Allen Monday, but that doesn't guarantee anything easy for the Atlanta Falcons.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris understands this uniquely well. Morris assumed the title of interim head coach in 2020 after the Falcons parted ways with former head coach Dan Quinn.
"You just increase the urgency in the whole building in the Saints organization," Morris said. "They're playing for their livelihood. They're playing for jobs. Nobody likes it. It's always rough in our business. I know we make TV shows out of all that stuff but, honestly, for us, that's real life and real-life experiences. For that building, it's real life and real-life experiences, and those guys are going through it."
Morris went through that experience with the Falcons in Week 6 of the 2020 season. After an 0-5 start to the year, Atlanta got win No. 1 in Morris' first game as the interim coach, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 40-23.
There's an almost intangible element to the shift in energy. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who was here in Atlanta for the transition in 2020, described it as a "jolt" within the team.
"It just felt like a breath of fresh air for us at the time. We (were) excited just to have a new, fresh start within the season to be able to do something right then about it," Jarrett said. "So, it can go either way. All we can do is prepare for what we've seen on film and not knowing exactly what they're going to do, how they want to attack it. We got to be the best us and let the rest take care of itself. That's why teams make changes in the middle of the season, to try and get a spark."
New Orleans is certainly looking for a spark as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak and most recently fell to the Carolina Panthers, 23-22. Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins was on the other side of Morris' first win as an interim head coach, and he's very aware of how a coaching change can "galvanize" a team. The Falcons picked off Cousins on the first possession of that game in 2020 and that energy snowballed into a win.
"I believe the team plays very well the following week, in my experience," Cousins said of a coaching change's impact. "I see it as a real challenge that we've been thrown. They're going to be emotionally and mentally at their best and then playing at their place. So there's a lot of factors coming together where you feel like we have to be at our best to have a chance to get a win."
History backs up that belief. Since 2010, teams have a 17-15 record in their first game with an interim coach. No matter what the numbers say, the Falcons aren't taking the threat of the Saints lightly. They know because they've been there before. In the NFL, you can't look past any team at any time.
"I think part of it is just being a pro and understanding it doesn't matter the environment. If we're home or away, you got to find a way to get the job done against really good opponents every week," Offensive lineman Jake Matthews said. "I don't care if their head coach just got fired, it doesn't matter. They can make us look bad really easily."
This Throwback Thursday, we're taking at look back at the Falcons vs Saints match-up through history as we gear up for Sunday's game against New Orleans in Week 10.
