FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Apart from a three-year stint at the collegiate level, Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has either been playing or coaching within the NFL since 2000.
That means the 47-year-old has spent more than half his life among the professionals in some capacity.
Safe to say, then, Ulbrich has seen not only the sport itself evolve but the industry and its individuals as well. And the best part about that, at least for the players he now coaches in Atlanta, is Ulbrich's willingness to evolve with the times.
"I'm getting this argument a lot of times with old football heads of like, 'Well, when I played or when I coached back 20 years ago, they could sit there and grind through five hours of tape and take notes the entire time,'" Ulbrich said. "But I don't believe in that way of coaching or teaching anymore. I don't. I think the best teachers in this league and the best teachers in the world are ones that adapt to the learners."
Twenty years ago, Ulbrich was entering his sixth season as a San Francisco 49ers linebacker. He very well may have been one of those sit-and-grind players. Things — more importantly, people — change, though.
Ulbrich began his coaching career in 2010 at 33 years old and has worked with three different NFL teams and one NCAA organization. He started as a special teams assistant, then served as a defensive position coach and later earned his first full-time coordinator job in 2021. Clearly, he has moved his way up the ranks, rightly adjusting as needed as he goes.
"I put a lot into learning the new-age learner, where the phone has become an appendage," Ulbrich said. "It's an extra hand or foot or finger, and they're so cognizant of it. So, they learn in a different way than I learned."
For example, Apple's first iPad was introduced in 2010 and Microsoft's first Surface came out in 2012. They didn't even exist when Ulbrich was in the pads. But both are regularly used nowadays by coaches and players alike, whether in games, practices, meetings, film studies, etc. And therefore, Ulbrich has embraced the technology available.
Again, that's just one example. Ulbrich has other, perhaps less obvious, ideas in mind, too.
"I've picked up a lot of some really cool things and ways to engage the player, to teach in a little bit different way," Ulbrich said, "and I look forward to learning from all these guys in this building of even more ways to teach.
"So, what type of teacher (am I)? It depends on the learner. It really does."
Take a look as new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich arrives at the Atlanta Falcons facility in Flowery Branch.
Photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on his first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Flacons)
Scenes from Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's press conference at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Behind the Scenes photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on his first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Flacons)
Behind the Scenes photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Scenes from Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's press conference at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Behind the Scenes photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on his first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Flacons)
Photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on his first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Flacons)
Scenes from Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's press conference at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Behind the Scenes photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Flacons)
Photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on his first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Flacons)
Photos of Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on his first day at the Atlanta Falcons Training Facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Monday, January 27, 2025. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Flacons)
