FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons completed an interview with Jeff Ulbrich for their defensive coordinator position, the team announced Wednesday.
Ulbrich marks the Falcons' second official interview. University of Michigan defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale concluded his interview Tuesday.
The Falcons aren't the only franchise interested in Ulbrich. The New York Jets announced Monday they completed an interview with Ulbrich for the head coach position. He was their interim from Week 6 on in 2024, going 3-9 after the Jets fired Robert Saleh.
Take a deeper look into Ulbrich's coaching history below.
Interview date: Wednesday, Jan. 15
Last stop: Interim head coach for the New York Jets (2024), previously the defensive coordinator (2021-24)
Resume highlights:
- Atlanta Falcons, 2015-20: Ulbrich was the linebackers coach from 2015-19. He maintained that role and added assistant head coach responsibilities to start 2020. When the Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn after five games, though, Ulbrich was promoted to defensive coordinator for the remaining 11 games.
- New York Jets, 2021-24: Ulbrich was Saleh's defensive coordinator until the head coach was fired after five games in 2024. Ulbrich was named interim head coach for the remaining 12 games.
Local connections: If chosen, Ulbrich would be a repeat Falcons employee, much like current head coach Raheem Morris. The two were on the same staff in Atlanta for the entirety of their tenures from 2015-20, when Ulbrich served as the linebackers coach and Morris held a variety of roles on both offense and defense. Ulbrich and Morris worked together closely, especially after the Falcons parted ways with Quinn. Morris was named the interim head coach and Ulbrich took over as defensive coordinator. Ulbrich and Morris shared game-calling responsibilities afterward, with Ulbrich handling early downs and Morris taking lake downs.
Why he's a candidate: Ulbrich's familiarity with Morris is certainly a plus for the Falcons. Beyond that, Ulbrich has also proven he can steer a strong defensive ship.
In 2020, his first season as a full-time defensive coordinator, the Jets' defensive unit struggled, leaving New York ranked last in both points and yards allowed and second to last in turnovers. In Ulbrich's second season, though, the narrative completely flipped, as the Jets ranked fourth in the same categories. The unit still wasn't creating many turnovers, coming in 29th in the category, but again, the next season was a different story. The Jets improved to eighth in turnovers by 2022 and maintained strong footing in the other spaces, too – third in yards allowed, 12th in points allowed. The Jets defense dipped in 2024 – third in yards allowed and 20th in both turnovers and points allowed – when Ulbrich took over as interim.
According to New York’s website, the Jets are one of five NFL teams since 2000 to finish in the top five in total defense a season after ranking last in the league. That was Ulbrich's doing between 2021-22.
Strikes against: Ulbrich's first year with the Jets is the biggest blemish on his resume, considering where the defense ranked at the season's end. Other than that, while familiarity can be seen as a good thing, it can also be seen as a negative, too. Or at least a reason to pause and consider the path ahead for the Falcons if they were to hire Ulbrich.
There's a been-there, tried-that reaction that can't be ignored. Morris and Ulbrich were already partnered up for six seasons, during which the Falcons' defense ranked in the top 10 in either points or yards allowed only once. The unit was eighth in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed in 2017. Otherwise, it hung around the 20s for a majority of the time. When it came to turnovers, Atlanta's best rank defensively was 16th in 2015-15.
This isn't to say Ulbrich doesn't deserve another chance. Atlanta clearly gave Morris another go in Atlanta. It's more so something to consider when weighing candidates.
