Ex-Falcons DC lands new NFL opportunity alongside Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota

It's pretty insane to think about how far the Atlanta Falcons' defense has come across the last couple of years. They've had four different DCs in the last four seasons, but that turnover is now a thing of the past now that Jeff Ulbrich and his staff are being retained under new head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Ulbrich rightfully deserves his flowers, especially given the revolving door of DC's that preceeded him. Dean Pees. Ryan Nielsen. Jimmy Lake. It's a trip down memory lane that fans don't necessarily want to remember, but Nielsen is forcing them to now that his name is back in the headlines.

The 46-year-old hasn't been in Atlanta since 2023, but finally landed a new job. The Minnesota Vikings are hiring Nielsen as their new defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator after he spent the 2025 season as a senior defensive assistant with Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills.

In comparison to some of the other defensive coordinators the Dirty Birds have had in recent memory, Nielsen was far from the worst. He comes with a lot of experience coaching defensive lines, but most of that came with the New Orleans Saints, so this is an interesting move for the Vikings.

Ryan Nielsen was just hired as a top assistant for the Minnesota Vikings

In just one season at the helm, the Dirty Birds doubled their sack total and improved to 18th in scoring defense and 11th in total defense under his tutelage. But when the Falcons hired Raheem Morris, Morris brought Lake along to call the defense, Nielsen left to take the Jaguars' DC position.

His stint in Jacksonville is when things really hit the fan. The Jaguars surrendered the most points per game in franchise history and was fired alongside Doug Pederson after the 2024 season ended. With that said, it's no surprise why Nielsen has struggled to find consistent work these last few seasons.

The Vikings are also bringing back Brian Flores as DC and they have one of the most feared defensive lines in the NFL, so this is a good sign for Neilsen. He'll be working with guys like Dallas Turner, Jonathan Greenard, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave, which may help him land another DC job.

Kevin O'Connell knows his job is on the line after Minnesota fired their GM, so he's taking some big gambles. They are also reportedly making other staff changes, but the only thing this will make Falcons fans think is that they are much better off from where they were this time in 2023 or 2024.