FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Jeff Ulbrich learned two lessons during his time as the New York Jets' interim head coach that he plans to keep front of mind now as the Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator.

First off, the importance of truth-telling.

Ulbrich was the Jets' defensive coordinator when Robert Saleh was fired as the head coach five games into the 2024 season. Ulbrich didn't expect his former fellow assistant coaches to treat him any differently after the makeshift promotion. Though, for the remaining 12 games, they did.

"I felt like people with the greatest intentions were keeping things from me at times," Ulbrich told AtlantaFalcons.com. "It was counterproductive."

Ulbrich, who has otherwise served as an assistant coach since 2010, understood why his colleagues were perhaps distancing themselves. He just didn't realize the detriment of it until he was on the receiving end.

In turn, Ulbrich won't make the same mistake with Falcons head coach Raheem Morris.

"As an assistant coach in this league, you think it's your duty to eliminate all the problems from the head coach," Ulbrich said. "There is an element to that. But at the same time, I felt void of truth-tellers all the time. Because it's like, 'Oh, he's the head coach now, I'm not going to talk to him or I'm not going to tell him the truth.' So, I'll be that resource for Rah, a guy that has been in that chair and understands it to an extent. I'll be that truth-teller for him."

It helps Ulbrich and Morris have a pre-existing relationship.

The two were on the same staff in Atlanta for the entirety of their initial tenures from 2015-20. Ulbrich was the linebackers coach, while Morris held a variety of roles on both offense and defense. They worked together closely, especially after the Falcons fired Dan Quinn five games into that 2020 season. Because then Morris became the interim head coach and Ulbrich took over as defensive coordinator. Together, they shared game-calling responsibilities for the remaining 11 games, with Ulbrich handling early downs and Morris taking late downs.

Although they went their separate ways afterward – Ulbrich to New York and Morris to the Los Angeles Rams – the camaraderie is still alive and well five years later.

"The beauty of Raheem and I's relationship is we can get into it," Ulbrich said. "Like if you were an outsider looking in, you'd be like, 'Holy shit, they hate each other.' We can go there because we have so much equity in our relationship that we can challenge each other, we can yell, we can fight. But we know when we go out, when we leave the room, we're on the same page. There's great power in that."

So, no matter the truth, Ulbrich will tell Morris for the sake of the Falcons.

That brings Ulbrich to his second lesson learned: the importance of delegating.

In his end-of-season press conference with the Jets, Ulbrich said if he were to be a head coach again, he would not be the defensive coordinator, too. The reason he did so in New York was to maintain as much continuity as possible amid the in-season personnel change. However, his efforts were skewed too much where, in hindsight, they'd be better more evenly shared across the board.

Ulbrich hopes to get Morris, who's mostly known for his defensive background, on the same page.

"When he has his spots to come in and suggest things, awesome; of course you can come in, of course you can give suggestions," Ulbrich said. "But I'm going to try to take the defensive coordinator stuff completely off his plate as best I can — so he can thrive as a head coach, so he can really connect to all three sides of the ball, so he can really be integrated into all that we do. I really think it can be detrimental for a head coach to actually run a side of the ball because there is connection that's lost with the rest of the team."

Besides, the Falcons' defensive staff is already full enough. In addition to Ulbrich and all his individual position coaches, Atlanta has Jerry Gray as an assistant head coach/defense and Mike Rutenberg as the defensive pass game coordinator. That's a lot of voices to balance, even without Morris stepping in.

Ulbrich is well aware he, Gray and Rutenberg, specifically, will have to find a way to collaborate – and fast. He's giving them a two-week timeline to get to know each other; what are their strengths and weaknesses, their preferences and comfortabilities. Then, if still on schedule, the scheme building will begin.

"You're surrounded by superstars as far as players but coaches as well," Ulbrich said. "Everybody's got all these beautiful superpowers that you got to take advantage of and you got to delegate to work. Because at the end of the day, the final product would be better if you do that."

The final product is ultimately what matters most.

Lately, neither the Jets, nor the Falcons have had the final product they want. The Falcons' last winning record came in 2017, along with their last playoff appearance. The Jets' lasts were 2015 and 2010, respectively.

At the very least, it's important coaches grow and develop during stretches of struggles. Ulbrich believes he has done that and can use these two lessons learned to help Atlanta return to its winning ways.

"For myself, to spend four years with Robert Saleh and the rest of the coaches that I got exposed to in New York, it provided just unbelievable growth – not just schematically, but how to build a defensive roster, how to communicate with the building, all of it," Ulbrich said. "I really believe, although my core principles are the same in many ways, my football brain is in a completely different place. I'm really excited for Raheem and myself."