The Atlanta Falcons have escaped the coaching carousel relatively unscathed in recent seasons, but that was because their defense was as putrid as it gets. But now that Jeff Ulbrich has turned around the defense practically overnight, they are starting to deal with having to pay the price of being good.
Luckily, Kevin Stefanski was able to retain Ulbrich and most of his staff, but they could endure one major loss, and it Raheem Morris isn't who they have to worry about. Per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, Falcons' defensive pass game coordinator Mike Rutenberg is a leading candidate to be the next defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
Since Robert Saleh won't be able to lure Ulbrich to Tennessee as his DC, he's thinking outside the box for another one of his former assistants. 2025 was the first season since 2014 where Saleh and Rutenberg didn't work together, so this reunion is far more feasible than one might expect.
Falcons' defensive pass game coorinator Mike Rutenberg is a top candidate to become the Tennessee Titans' next defensive coordinator
The pair worked together in Jacksonville, San Francisco, and New York. but Ulbrich brought him with him to Atlanta when he took the DC position. The 44-year-old led the NFL's 13th best pass defense, and that number would've been higher if not for several injuries in the secondary down the stretch.
A.J. Terrell had a down year, but Xavier Watts and Jessie Bates III emerged into one of the league's best safety duos. Watts led all rookies with five picks this season and Bates impressed too, but the Dee Alford's breakout year was probably the best evidence of Rutenberg's impact on this defense.
Alford is likely to cash in in free agency, while rookie DB Billy Bowman Jr. also had a solid rookie year before getting hurt. This Falcons' secondary as far from the league's most talented unit, which confirmed that Rutenberg did more with less and would be a brutal loss for this coaching staff.
Given the years of familiarity between Saleh and Rutenberg, it would be genuinely shocking if the Dirty Birds are able to retain him. So far, there haven't been many updates on his status, but once Saleh landed in Nashville, he quickly pinpointed him as someone he wants on his defensive staff.
However, now that the Niners hired Morris to be their new DC, Saleh could bring Gus Bradley with him to Tennessee and he could just be looking at Rutenberg for a similar role he currently has. It's a hard thing to say no to, but Ulbrich needs to pull out all the stops to ensure the Falcons keep Rutenberg.