The Atlanta Falcons have finally filled their defensive coordinator vacancy that was left open after firing Jimmy Lake, but bringing in Jeff Ulbrich may not have been the home run hire many fans were hoping for.
Ulbrich, who spent the last four years as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, is fresh off going 3-9 as interim head coach while overseeing an extremely talented offense and regressing defense. The Falcons were apparently not deterred by his poor performance, as they officially tabbed him as Lake's replacement.
Fans may remember that when Raheem Morris was named Falcons interim head coach in 2020, Ulbrich was promoted to defensive coordinator. That initial run was so uninspiring one might wonder why the Falcons believe bringing him back for a second go-around would somehow produce much better results.
In a division that is looking more like it will be run by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the forseeable future, the Falcons leaning on nepotism one year after his merit did not warrant an immediate second chance as a defensive play-caller could be a fatal error.
Falcons make mistake hiring former Jets coach Jeff Ulbrich as DC
Ulbrich has previously served as Atlanta's linebackers coach from 2015 to 2019 under Dan Quinn, helping the likes of Deion Jones put up some of their best seasons. He earned a promotion to assistant head coach in 2020 while also taking over defensive coordinator responsibilities after Quinn was fired.
Ulbrich's defense was quite toothless in 2020. While he did rebuild his stock by helping turn the Jets into one of the most fearsome defenses in the league, the firing of head coach Robert Saleh proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he deserved the lion's share of the credit for New York's productivity on that side of the ball.
Under Saleh, the Jets' defense ranked first in EPA per play and points per drive, third in success rate, and fifth in EPA per dropback. After firing Saleh and giving Ulbrich interim head coach duties, the Jets fell all the way to 28th in EPA per dropback. The defense surrendered more than 23 points in eight of their 12 games.
The Falcons had the chance to change their lackluster defensive performance on a dime, and they chose instead to hire an old friend who has seen his stock plunge into the proverbial toilet. Morris' inability to make the right defensive hires could possibly lead to his undoing in Atlanta.