FLOWERY BRANCH — Former Falcons assistant coach Jeff Ulbrich, who interviewed Wednesday and considered the front-runner from the outset of the search, was named the defensive coordinator on Saturday.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris and Ulbrich did not immediately return calls from the AJC.
Ulbrich was the Jets’ defensive coordinator and interim head coach this season, played in NFL for the 49ers from 2000-09, and was with the Falcons from 2015-20. He was the linebackers coach mostly and served as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach in his final season. He helped to call the defense for part of 2019 and in 2020.
The Falcons complied with the league’s Rooney Rule by interviewing three minority and/or women for the coordinator position.
Ulbrich’s first defense with the Jets finished 32nd in the NFL in points and yards allowed in 2021. The Jets jumped to fourth in yards and points in 2022. They finished 12th in points and third in yards in 2023 and ranked 20th in points and third in yards this season.
Ulbrich worked under former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh in New York. When Saleh was fired early in this season, Ulbrich was named interim.
The Jets’ problems over the past four seasons mostly were on the offense, as they moved on from quarterback Sam Darnold and cycled through Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
The Jets used a 4-3 alignment and featured a stout front anchored by former Alabama standout Quinnen Williams and a secondary that had cornerback Sauce Gardner.
The Jets received strong linebacker play this season from Jamien Sherwood, who led the Jets with 158 tackles, and Quincy Williams, who ranked second with 116 tackles.
Ulbrich, a native of San Jose, California, began his coaching career with the Seahawks as a special teams assistant from 2010-11. He spent three years in the college ranks at UCLA as the assistant head coach/linebackers/special teams (2012-13) and defensive coordinator (2014).
He jumped on the radar screen in Georgia with linebacker Roquan Smith de-committed from UCLA to play at Georgia when Ulbrich left to join the Falcons.
Also, Ulbrich was one of the supporters on the Falcons staff who advocated for the drafting of former UCLA linebacker Takkarist McKinley with the 26th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt went four picks later to the Steelers, 30th overall.
McKinley, who spent four seasons with the Falcons, played a season with the Browns (2021) and Rams (2022). He was out of the league in 2023. The Jets, with Ulbrich on the staff, signed him last season, and he played in seven games.
McKinley has played 71 NFL games, with 27 starts and 20.5 sacks.
Watt has been selected to eight Pro Bowls and was the defensive player of the year in 2021. He has played and started 121 NFL games and has 108 sacks.
Former Bears coach Matt Eberflus was the seventh person to interview virtually for the job earlier on Saturday.
In addition to Eberflus and Ulbrich, the Falcons interviewed Steve Wilks, Grady Brown, Don “Wink” Martindale, Lou Anarumo and Derrick Ansley. Wilks, Brown and Ansley are African-Americans and helped the team satisfy the Rooney requirements.
Veterans defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis and Leslie Frazier were not interviewed by the Falcons.
Former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake was fired after the Falcons finished 8-9 last season as the defense collapsed down the stretch. The Falcons finished with a losing record for the seventh consecutive season.
Other interviewed for Falcons defensive coordinator
Steve Wilks
Wilks, 55, was interviewed on Friday.
Wilks, who was a visitor to the Falcons’ training camp last year, was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018.
Wilks, who was the head coach at Savannah State in 1999, has been a long-time NFL coordinator, most recently with the San Francisco in 2023, when the 49ers reached the Super Bowl.
He did not coach in the league this season as he served as a senior consultant to Charlotte in the college ranks.
Wilks was a visitor at Falcons practice in late July.
“Really respect him,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said at the time. “We actually interviewed him (in January 2024 after coach Arthur Smith was fired). That’s exactly what that is. When you don’t have a job, you come and look at it from afar.”
Fontenot sensed Wilks wanted to join in the drills.
“I was teasing him during practice, it’s hard when you’re back there and you want to jump on the field and coach,” Fontenot said. “It was probably hard for him not getting his hands dirty. Just have a lot of respect for him. (Falcons coach) Raheem (Morris) is great about that, opening his door to coaches.
The Falcons fired Lake after finishing this season 8-9 and not reaching the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
Wilks was interviewed for the Falcons’ head coaching job before Raheem Morris was hired. Wilks also interviewed that offseason with the Chargers, who hired Jim Harbaugh instead.
“I thought it went well,” Wilks told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his interview with the Falcons at the Super Bowl last season in Las Vegas. “Congratulations to Raheem. I think he’s going to do a tremendous job. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a coach and even more as a person.”
Wilks made his reputation as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator under Ron Rivera. He started his coaching career at Johnson C. Smith (1995-96) and Savannah State (1997-99) after playing at Appalachian State.
He was the Panthers’ interim head coach in 2023 after Matt Rhule was fired.
Matt Eberflus
Eberflus interviewed on Saturday.
Eberflus, who called the defense, posted a 14-32 record (.304) from 2022-24. He posted a 37-17 win over the Falcons on Dec. 31, 2023.
Before Chicago, Eberflus was the defensive coordinator of the Colts (2018-21). He spent the seven previous seasons with the Cowboys as an assistant coach. He started his NFL coaching career with the Browns.
Before entering the NFL, he was the linebackers coach at Missouri, where he coached former Falcons first-round pick Sean Weatherspoon.
He also coached at Toledo in the college ranks.
Wink Martindale
Martindale interviewed Tuesday.
Martindale was the Giants defensive coordinator from 2022-23. He most extensive work was with Ravens from 2012-21. He was the inside linebackers coach (2012-15), linebackers coach (2016-17) and defensive coordinator (2018-21) in Baltimore.
Martindale, 61, also was the defensive coordinator with the Broncos.
He saw stops at Notre Dame, the University of Cincinnati, Western Illinois and Western Kentucky before starting his NFL coaching career in 2004.
Martindale has coached players to 22 Pro Bowl selections and 10 All-Pro picks.
Lou Anarumo
Anarumo interviewed Thursday.
He helped the Bengals make back-to-back AFC title-game appearances in 2021 and 2022 while allowing 18.8 points per game in seven postseason matchups. He was lauded for being flexible and making halftime adjustments.
Anarumo would be reunited with Falcons safety Jessie Bates III, who started his career with the Bengals.
After Bates’ departure for the Falcons, the Bengals defense has fallen on hard times. The Bengals were ranked 25th in points allowed and yards allowed last season. In 2023, the Bengals were 21st in points allowed and 32 in yards allowed.
Derrick Ansley
Ansley, 43, interviewed Thursday.
He was with the Chargers (2021-23) as the defensive backs coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2023.
He started in the NFL with the Raiders in 2018 as the defensive backs coach.
Ansley, a native of Tallassee, Alabama, also has coached in the college ranks at Huntington (2005-09), Alabama (2010-11), Tennessee (20120, Kentucky (2013-15) and Alabama (2016-17).
Grady Brown
Brown, who has been with the Steelers since 2021, was interviewed Friday.
He previously coached in college at Houston (2021), McNeese State (2020), Old Dominion (2019), Louisville (2018), Alabama State (2017), Birmingham Southern (2016), South Carolina (2012-15), Southern Miss (2010-11), Alabama State (2002-07) and Alabama A&M (2001).
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