FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Because defensive play is often a reactionary game, offenses across the NFL have forced their opponent's hand into evolving both in practice and game situations.
Jeff Ulbrich, who has coached in the league for the last decade, understands this; that in order for a defense to be successful, the unit must not only be willing to adapt but also capable of doing so — and quickly. It's why, as the Atlanta Falcons' new defensive coordinator, Ulbrich emphasized the importance of multiplicity during his introductory press conference Monday. There will be no hard base look in 2025; rather, a fluid one.
"If we look back 15, 20 years ago, there were 3-4 teams and there were 4-3 teams, and you were one or the other," Ulbrich said. "It's not that way anymore. Offenses have jumped off the playbook. … It's really forced us from a defensive standpoint to get more multiplicity in all that we do, front-wise, coverage-wise, all of that. So, we're going to be multiple, and we're going to do some unique things that are going to be 3-4-ish and 4-3-ish at times."
They'll be whatever is required of them as dictated by the opposing offense.
This isn't Ulbrich's first go in Atlanta, either. He was the Falcons' linebackers coach from 2015-19, added the role of assistant head coach to start 2020 and then held the title of interim defensive coordinator for the final 11 games of 2020. When Arthur Smith was hired as the Falcons head coach in 2021, Ulbrich was hired by the New York Jets to be their defensive coordinator.
Ulbrich did well there – very well, defensively at least. The Jets were the only team to rank in the top five of total defense in each of the last three seasons. That's despite New York as a whole never compiling a record better than 7-10 — much like Atlanta prior to Raheem Morris' hiring in 2024.
Ulbrich and Morris worked together within the Falcons organization during their initial go-around. While Ulbrich was a position coach, Morris was his coordinator. It was Morris who became the interim head coach when Ulbrich received the in-season promotion.
To prevent this reunion feeling like history repeating itself, Ulbrich recognized faults from the past that he wants to avoid in this second chance. It goes back to the importance of multiplicity.
"The multiplicity is there to create," Ulbrich said. "I don't know if our first run here, if we always had that schematic answer when things got sideways on game day and the ability to pivot when an offense pivots. So, the multiplicity is powerful in that way that you got answers. To just say, 'We've got to play harder and faster and more physical,' that's one way to approach things. Or you create real schematic answers to problems, obviously, as you game plan, but even more powerful sometimes is the pivot on game day."
To pull off such a feat, Ulbrich first plans to dissect the Falcons' defense in 2024, analyzing the unit's strengths and weaknesses himself and with the help of his new coaching staff. Then, he'll identify and share his successes from the Jets, collaboratively picking and choosing what to keep. The final step will be merging the findings from the best of the two into one defensive plan.
Of course, amid all that, decisions must be made about existing personnel.
The Falcons have a range of talent on their defense. There are veterans like defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, inside linebacker Kaden Elliss and safety Jessie Bates III. There are also rookies with potential yet to be fully realized like defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, inside linebacker JD Bertrand and outside linebacker Bralen Trice. And those are just rostered players. Safety Justin Simmons, outside linebacker Matthew Judon and cornerback Mike Hughes, for example, have contracts that are set to expire when the new league year begins March 12.
Not to mention outside options through the draft and free agency.
"I'd like to say I'll have a lot of input as far as that's concerned," Ulbrich said of roster building. "I'd like to say the entire defensive staff is going to have a lot of input as far as how we build this defense. I think that, especially from a defense perspective, all the scheme in the world is great, but the players make this thing come to life. They always have and they always will."
All of this will come with time. Monday was just the official start of Ulbrich's return in Atlanta.
"A lot of work to be done," Ulbrich said. "But it's the type of work that you wake up in the morning, you're fired up to get started with."
