Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been around the block as a coach in the NFL. Over the last 10 years, Ulbrich has been a position coach, assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and interim head coach.
From 2015-2020, he worked for the Falcons in various roles before spending four seasons with the New York Jets (2021-2024). Ulbrich may be back in Atlanta, but his philosophy has changed.
This time, the Falcons’ defensive play-caller is focused less on firing up his players with slogans and more on providing concrete answers for what might happen on game day.
“I don’t know if our first run here if we always had a schematic answer when things got sideways on game day,” said Ulbrich. “And the ability to pivot when an offense pivots.”
Ulbrich said the team struggled to make game-day adjustments in his first stint and will be working to provide solutions this time around.
“To just say we gotta play harder and faster and more physical, you know, that’s one way to approach things,” Ulbrich explained. “Or you create real schematic answers to problems.”
Having answers is something that could have benefitted Atlanta in the final two weeks of the season. While the team’s offense was clicking on all cylinders, the defense had no answer for Jayden Daniels or Bryce Young and allowed 74 points combined in Weeks 17 and 18.
Had the Falcons won both games, they could have won their division for the first time since 2016. Hopefully, Ulbrich’s focus on game-day adjustments will help the team get over the hump in 2025.