Jimmy Lake Named Falcons DC on Raheem Morris' Staff After Rams Tenure

The Atlanta Falcons have hired former Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach Jimmy Lake as their defensive coordinator under Raheem Morris, the team announced Monday.

Lake spent just one year in L.A. and has spent most of the last decade in the college ranks. Before joining the Rams, he served as Washington head coach in 2020 and 2021.

His hiring follows a trend of Morris, who was named head coach last week, bringing members of the Rams' staff with him to Atlanta. Along with Lake, the Falcons have hired former L.A. pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson as offensive coordinator.

Lake and Morris have a history of working together even before their time in Los Angeles. They coached alongside one another for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007 and again with the Bucs in 2010 to 2011.

Along with Lake's arrival on Monday, the Falcons also announced they have retained special teams coordinator Marquice Williams, who has been with the team since 2021.

With Morris' coaching staff beginning to come together, the Falcons are looking to right the ship after a rough six-year stretch. They haven't made the postseason since 2017 when they reached the divisional round. In that same stretch, Atlanta has not had a winning season and has gone 7-10 in each of the last three years, ultimately leading to Arthur Smith's firing.

With Morris taking over and some of his colleagues from Los Angeles joining, the Falcons are looking to put together a winning season and snap their postseason drought.