FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The New York Jets finished the 2020 season with a 2-14 record, their worst since 1996. It was only the second time in franchise history the team failed to win more than a pair of games.
Obviously, personnel changes were made in the aftermath. The Jets brought in Robert Saleh to be their new head coach, along with fresh offensive and defensive coordinators in Mike LaFleur and Jeff Ulbrich, respectively.
It's difficult to say the Jets achieved the results they wanted, considering their best output since has been back-to-back 7-10 seasons in 2022 and 2023. But it's even more difficult to blame the defense for the slow turnaround. That unit showed improvement under Ulbrich's guidance.
Take a look at the rankings.
Jet's offensive and defensive rankings
| YEAR | RECORD | OFF: POINTS | YARDS | DEF: POINTS | YARDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4-13 | 28 | 26 | 32 | 32 |
| 2022 | 7-10 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 4 |
| 2023 | 7-10 | 29 | 31 | 12 | 3 |
| 2024 | 5-12 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 3 |
That table partially explains why the Jets and LaFleur agreed to separate in 2023, and Nathaniel Hackett was hired to take over the offensive responsibilities and work with Aaron Rodgers. Ulbrich, meanwhile, stayed in New York and kept his responsibilities.
The following table is a deeper look at the Jets' defensive performance with Ulbrich wearing the headset.
Jet's defensive rankings
| YEAR | POINTS | RANK | ALL YARDS | RANK | PASS YARDS | RANK | RUSH YARDS | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 504 | 32 | 6,670 | 32 | 4,409 | 30 | 2,351 | 29 |
| 2022 | 316 | 4 | 5,288 | 4 | 3,220 | 3 | 2,068 | 16 |
| 2023 | 355 | 12 | 4,969 | 3 | 2,861 | 2 | 2,108 | 25 |
| 2024 | 404 | 20 | 5,334 | 3 | 3,275 | 4 | 2,059 | 17 |
The Jets fired Saleh after a 2-3 start in 2024, naming Ulbrich as their interim head coach. Ulbrich then led New York to a 3-9 ending, which resulted in a 5-12 overall record.
Prior to the switch, opponents averaged 17 points per game against the Jets. After the change, opponents averaged 26.6 points. So, there was a large drop-off when Ulbrich was required to focus on the whole team rather than just the defense. However, to be fair, five games at the start of the season is a much smaller and simpler sample size than the 12 games through the middle and end of season after teams figure themselves out.
Regardless, the Jets displayed a strong defensive effort with Ulbrich's help from 2022-23, when his system was firmly established and he was focusing entirely on that unit.
New York had a rough go on defense in 2021, ranking last in both points and yards allowed. But that was Ulbrich's first year — as well as the whole staff's — and change can take time to implement. In 2022, his unit improve immensely, improving to No. 4 in both regards. That's a 28-spot jump, the best improvement by any team in the league that year.
Again, the table above gets into each year and different standings. What it doesn't show, though, is the Jets were the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in total defense (yards per game allowed) in each of the last three seasons. That's below.
NFL total defense rankings
| RANK | 2021 - YARDS ALLOWED | 2022 - YARDS ALLOWED | 2023 - YARDS ALLOWED | 2024 - YARDS ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUF: 4,637 | BUF: 5,106 | CLE: 4,593 | PHI: 4,732 |
| 2 | CAR: 5,201 | SFO: 5,110 | KAN: 4,926 | TEN: 5,291 |
| 3 | SFO: 5,270 | PHI: 5,125 | NYJ: 4,969 | NYJ: 5,334 |
| 4 | NWE: 5,284 | WAS: 5,178 | CAR: 4,997 | MIA: 5,345 |
| 5 | CLE: 5,296 | NYJ: 5.288 | DAL: 5,095 | GNB: 5,347 |
And while their run defense left more to be desired, not once cracking the top 10 with Ulbrich, the Jets were also the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in pass defense in each of the last three seasons.
Here's one more table to prove the point that's coming after all this number nonsense.
NFL pass defense rankings
| RANK | 2021 - YARDS ALLOWED | 2022 - YARDS ALLOWED | 2023 - YARDS ALLOWED | 2024 - YARDS ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUF: 2,771 | PHI: 3,057 | CLE: 2,800 | PHI: 2,961 |
| 2 | NWE: 3,181 | NOR: 3,134 | NYJ: 2,861 | TEN: 3,014 |
| 3 | CHI: 3,257 | NYJ: 3,220 | CAR: 2,916 | WAS: 3,221 |
| 4 | CAR: 3,266 | WAS: 3,252 | KAN: 3,001 | NYJ: 3,275 |
| 5 | CLE: 3,439 | CLE: 3,336 | DAL: 3,185 | SFO: 3,278 |
The point: 2020 set the course for Ulbrich to establish his own resume thanks to two different teams' struggles.
At the time, Ulbrich was with the Atlanta Falcons, serving as their linebackers coach and assistant head coach. Dan Quinn was the head coach; Raheem Morris, the defensive coordinator. Quinn, though, was fired after an 0-5 start. When Morris became the interim head coach, Ulbrich was promoted to defensive coordinator for the remaining 11 games.
At the same time, as already established, the Jets performed poorly enough to have an opening at season's end for Ulbrich, who did well with New York in his first full-time role as defensive coordinator — as the stats show.
Now, five years later, the story comes full circle.
Ulbrich's prior relationship with Morris likely got his foot in the door with the Falcons to interview for their vacant defensive coordinator position. Ulbrich's resume away from Atlanta, though, is why the Falcons officially hired him as their fifth defensive coordinator since that pivotal 2020 season.
