Raheem Morris became the ultimate victim of circumstance this month.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Morris celebrated his 50th birthday on Thursday … well, at least in theory. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the 49ers spent Thursday traveling to Australia for their Week 1 game against the rival Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10.
Due to crossing the International Date Line, the Rams left on Wednesday night local time (in California) and arrived on Friday morning local time (in Australia). As a result, Morris lost his 50th birthday to a travel quirk.
Morris is a two-time Super Bowl champion coach who served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons from 2024-25. After going 16-18 (.471) with zero playoff appearances during his two seasons in charge of the Falcons, Morris got fired by Atlanta in January.
He then went on to become the defensive coordinator of the 49ers earlier this past February. The move reunited him with San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan, whom Morris had previously worked with on both the Falcons and on the then-Washington Redskins.
The 49ers probably still found some way to celebrate Morris despite his actual birthday being lost to the abyss of international travel. After all, the team is already using their temporary residence in Australia to their advantage in some unusual ways.
