Raheem Morris landed on his former friend Jeff Ulbrich as his new defensive coordinator. The two go way back and even worked in the same roles with the same team in 2020.
One thing is clear: Morris values familiarity, which might just be our crystal ball moving forward. This team will attempt to bring in familiar faces in free agency, with one of them sticking out.
Jamien Sherwood will be the newest Atlanta Falcon in March
Coming out of Auburn in 2021, Jamien Sherwood was a tweener; either a big safety or a small linebacker. The New York Jets drafted him in the fifth round and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich saw him as a linebacker, similar to Deion Jones who he coached while in Atlanta.
Another piece in his development was linebackers coach Mike Rutenberg. The coaches around Sherwood helped turn him into a great player who just led the league in solo tackles.
Now, he appears to be headed to the open market where he may see some interest from familiar faces.
Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Rutenberg (recently hired as the defensive pass game coordinator) are in Atlanta and will undoubtedly be banging on the door for Terry Fontenot to get a deal done. The linkage between player and team is too obvious.
However, the Falcons love Troy Andersen -- a similar player to Sherwood. But do they trust him? It is hard to say yes considering his injury history.
If the new defensive coaching staff has no faith in Andersen's health then Jamien Sherwood will be an Atlanta Falcon. The free agent will come with a hefty price tag due to his sideline-to-sideline ability.