Falcons fire coach Raheem Morris, GM Terry Fontenot hours after finishing 8-9 season

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons fired coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday night, announcing the moves hours after the team completed its second straight 8-9 finish under Morris and eighth consecutive losing season.

Morris said after Sunday's 19-17 win over the New Orleans Saints that he expected to return for a third season. Instead, his 16-18 record was not enough for him to keep his job after the year began with optimism that the Falcons would reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

“I have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward,” owner Arthur Blank said in a statement.

“The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership. I wish Raheem and Terry the absolute best in their future pursuits.”

The Falcons finished with four straight wins and in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC South, but the streak came after the team had been eliminated from playoff contention. Carolina won the division because it had a better record in divisional games.

Blank attended Morris’ postgame news conference and gave the second-year coach a hug following the session. The owner showed no emotion when Morris was asked if he expected to return.

“You know, my expectation is always to be back, right?” Morris said before looking at Blank and adding, “I’m going to coach this football team as long as he allows it.”

When asked if he had discussed his job status with Blank, Morris said, “You can’t worry about those things. The boss is sitting right there. All those things — this is a business, what we do. I know it’s fun for you guys to talk about it, but those decisions will always be made at a proper time. Those decisions will always be made, utilize whatever is best for the Atlanta Falcons.”

Blank was scheduled to speak at a news conference on Thursday.

Fontenot was named general manager before the 2021 season. The team was 36-48 during his tenure, but the Falcons got solid production from his 2025 draft class. First-round picks James Peace Jr. and Jalon Walker led NFL rookies in sacks and third-round pick Xavier Watts led all rookies with five interceptions.

Walker said Sunday that Morris did “a great job of keeping the culture here strong. I commend him. All of our trials and tribulations this season, we’ve found a way, we’ve made a way.”

Guard Chris Lindstrom also expressed support for Morris.

“Yeah, I think coach Rah really fosters a connection with one another,” Lindstrom said. “I think, really, we have that across the team and across all three phases. When you have that, when things aren’t going right, there’s still belief in what we want to achieve and belief in one another.

“I think it’s also respect and love for one another, too. So, when it’s easy to pull off the gas, you don’t, because you care about the guys around you. The fan base deserves it, and we all know that. So, I was really proud of our guys to be able to finish the season that way.”

When asked about the possibility of a coaching change, wide receiver Drake London said, “That’s above my pay grade. I can’t make those decisions. I love everybody who’s on this team, everybody who makes this team tick. I love everybody.”

The moves came after Blank hired the consulting firm Sportsology, which previously worked with his Major League Soccer franchise, Atlanta United, to study the Falcons. The Falcons said the search for a new coach and GM would begin immediately, with an executive search firm, ZRG Partners, assisting on the coach search and Sportsology helping with the general manager search.

The Falcons set no timeline for either hire and said the searches will be conducted concurrently.

Morris also served as the Falcons' interim coach for the final 11 games in 2020, going 4-7 after Dan Quinn was fired following an 0-5 start.

Arthur Smith took over after that season and posted three consecutive 7-10 records from 2021 through 2023. The hiring of Morris, who had been the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, came with Blank expressing optimism the Falcons were ready to win.

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Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, right, greets New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore after an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris walks off the field after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, right, hugs head coach Raheem Morris after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, right, hugs head coach Raheem Morris after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday announced that he is issuing a letter of censure to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over the lawmaker’s participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.

Hegseth said that the censure was “a necessary process step” to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly's retired rank of captain in the U.S. Navy. Kelly's office had no immediate comment.

The move comes more than a month after Kelly participated in a video with five other Democratic lawmakers in which they called on troops to defy “illegal orders.” President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post days later. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called Hegseth’s action against Kelly “a despicable act of political retribution.”

“Mark Kelly is a hero and a patriot committed to serving the American people,” Schumer said on social media. “Pete Hegseth is a lap dog committed to serving one man – Donald Trump.”

In November, Kelly and the other lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.”

The 90-second video was first posted from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Kelly and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”

The Pentagon announced that it began an investigation of Kelly late in November while citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court martial or other measures.

While all six lawmakers served in the military or the intelligence community, Hegseth made clear in previous remarks that Kelly was the only one facing investigation because he is the only one of the lawmakers who formally retired from the military and is still under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.

Kelly said that the investigation was part of an effort to silence dissent within the military.

“This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members, government employees — do not speak out against this president or there will be consequences,” Kelly told reporters in mid-December.

In his post Monday, Hegseth charged that Kelly's remarks in the video and afterward violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice provisions against conduct unbecoming an officer and violating good order and discipline.

Kelly, along with some of the other Democrats in the initial video, have also sent out fundraising messages based off the Republican president’s reaction to their comments, efforts that have gone toward filling their own campaign coffers and further elevating their national-level profiles.

In recent months, Kelly — whose name has frequently been mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender — has made several trips to South Carolina, traditionally an early primary state that kicked off its party’s nominating calendar in 2024. Appearing with his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, at events calling for stricter gun control measures, Kelly met during those trips with local lawmakers, stakeholders whose early support can be critical as national-level hopefuls attempt to make inroads in the critical state.

Hegseth said Monday that “Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action."

Todd Huntley, a retired Navy captain and judge advocate general, said that this is a “novel” situation that raises legal questions.

One issue, according to Huntley, is whether Kelly’s comments fall under the constitutional protections of the speech or debate clause.

The clause is intended to protect members of Congress from questioning about official legislative acts, and a 1968 Supreme Court decision wrote that the provision’s intent was “to prevent legislative intimidation by and accountability to the other branches of government.”

Huntley also said that while the type of process Hegseth is using here, known as a retirement grade determination, is fairly routine, “as far as I know, they’ve always been based on conduct during the individual’s active duty service, even if it only came to light after retirement.”

“So, I don’t know if conduct totally after retirement would fit the requirement for such a determination,” he added.

According to Hegseth, Kelly now has 30 days to submit a response to the proceedings that will decide if he is demoted. The decision will be made within 45 days, Hegseth’s post added.

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., refutes efforts by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to intimidate him and other lawmakers after expressing concerns over U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean, during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)