Falcons' Jeff Ulbrich Reveals Biggest Mistakes of Jets Coaching Tenure

Atlanta Falcons newly hired defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich feels he learned several lessons in his 12-game stint as the New York Jets' interim head coach.
Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich noted big mistakes from his time as the New York Jets' interim head coach.
Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich noted big mistakes from his time as the New York Jets' interim head coach. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is ready to turn the page on the still-fresh wounds of his 12-game stint as New York Jets interim head coach.

But Ulbrich will always bring with him the lessons learned from his three months leading an NFL franchise.

"Delegation and truth-telling were the two things that will never leave me when they got reinforced at the highest level," Ulbrich said in his introductory press conference Monday.

Ulbrich started with a heightened education on the value of having truth-tellers on staff.

With over two decades of experience as an assistant coach, Ulbrich is well-acquainted with the mindset of most coordinators and position coaches. The mentality includes wanting to eliminate problems from the head coach's plate so he can focus on his own responsibilities.

Ulbrich, however, found that's not necessarily the case.

The reality, Ulbrich said, is while there are some things to help the head coach with, there are others where he needs to be informed in a prompt and accurate manner.

"A lot of times, what I found in that interim role was, although it was interim, it was like I felt the shift and the way people talked to me and treated me and what they said to me," Ulbrich said. "The lack of truth sometimes was really detrimental."

Ulbrich said this specific lesson not only helps him as a defensive coordinator, but also as a true assistant to Morris.

"It just reinforced the idea that Raheem is going to need me in that way to make sure that I'm always telling the truth and maybe eliminating some of the blind spots that he doesn't see," Ulbrich said.

The other area of remorse -- delegation -- is more applicable to his time as head coach.

Ulbrich said he's made this analogy to lots of people: hypothetically, the head coach works 10 hours per day, as does the defensive coordinator. When the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh and tabbed Ulbrich as his replacement, Ulbrich said Saleh's 10 hours didn't go anywhere.

And Ulbrich believes he "failed at" properly delegating responsibilities across his staff.

"It became a thing, and there is an element of a failure for myself in that way because I didn't delegate," Ulbrich said. "I just took it all on myself. In my mind's eye, I was trying to create continuity, and I didn't want to fracture the staff, and he's the coordinator.

"I thought the best thing for me to do at that point in time was just try to keep everybody in the same role that they had just so we could keep things rolling, and it wasn't the right thing to do."

The Jets' defense struggled mightily once Saleh left. New York went from holding opponents to 17 points and 255.8 yards per game through the first five games to allowing 26.6 points and 337.9 yards per game over its final 12.

Ulbrich said when he looks back on his tenure as head coach, he should have given the defensive coordinator responsibilities to another coach on his staff.

"I should have delegated," Ulbrich said, "because it's just, in my opinion, it's too hard -- especially when it's thrown on you in the middle of the season. It's just you hadn't prepared for it. You're learning on the run."

The Jets went 3-9 under Ulbrich's leadership but won two of their final four games. The experience, while trying, has led Ulbrich back to Atlanta -- an experience he said Monday is like coming home.

Still, doubt exists. Not necessarily from him, but fans who saw Morris, as interim head coach, and Ulbrich, as interim defensive coordinator, operate in similar roles in 2020. The Falcons compiled a 4-7 record and lost their final five games to close that season.

So, why will this time be different? Ulbrich feels he's grown, in part because of his interim stint but also learning under Saleh. Morris had a similar experience from 2021-23 with the Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean McVay.

The Falcons are banking on Ulbrich being right.

"I'm a different human being, and he is as well," Ulbrich said. "As much as I'd like to say I wish we would have stayed these past four years and never left and just kept it rolling, we needed that opportunity to leave."

Now, Ulbrich is ready to show it in Atlanta -- while also proving he's better than the numbers showed from his 12-game stint at the end of his Jets tenure.

"It provided unbelievable growth," Ulbrich said. "Not just schematically, but how to build a defensive roster, how to communicate with the building, all of it. So, 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."


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Daniel Flick
DANIEL FLICK

Daniel Flick is an accredited NFL writer for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Daniel has provided boots-on-ground coverage at the NFL Combine and from the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters, among other destinations, and contributed to the annual Lindy's Sports Magazine ahead of the 2023 offseason. Daniel is a co-host on the 404TheFalcon podcast and previously wrote for the Around the Block Network and Georgia Sports Hospitality Media.