While the Atlanta Falcons were searching for a fresh start this offseason, it was never going to be a true fresh start. Before hiring a head coach or GM, Arthur Blank made it clear that the Falcons wanted to retain defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich--and they wanted to hire a coach who would keep him.
That made the Falcons' coaching search that much more difficult, because that would handicap their new coach in building their own defensive staff at least on one side of the ball. And not a lot of coaches will go for that given they want to bring in their own guys, but Atlanta refused to budge.
Still, the Falcons managed to hire Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski, and retaining Ulbrich was one of the first things to come out after the hires become official. Clearly it wasn't an issue given it allowed Stefanski to focus more on the offensive staff, since Brich was going to run the defense anyways and there wasn't going to be much turnover on that side of the coaching staff.
The expectation was that a new staff meant the old staff was fair game, so of course, other teams were interested in him. Since Dallas Cowboys requested to interview Ulbrich for their defensive coordinator vacancy, but Atlanta blocked the request. And I'm sure several other DC-needy teams would've been interested but dared not to try.
It would've been really easy for Stefanski to want Jim Schwartz or someone to follow him to Atlanta given the pattern of him bringing over several of his favorite ex-Browns assistants. But given how this defense has looked this year, it's hard to imagine Blank regrets putting his foot down on this one.
The Falcons were right to insist on keeping Jeff Ulbrich
If you thought the 49-year-old worked wonders with this defense in his first season, he's done more with less through five weeks this year. The Dirty Birds lead the NFL in pressure rate and QB pressures despite not having two of their better pass-rushers from 2025 in Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.
A lot of that is a testament to how good Jeff Ulbrich has been. Outside of Week 5 against the Ravens, Falcons aren't blitzing much and they are only sending four most of the time, yet they're still getting home--and it's not like the personnel is anything elite. He and Nate Ollie have elevated this group.
Like Za'Darius Smith, Samson Ebukam, and Cameron Thomas are all rotational players, yet he has them playing out of their minds this year. And the Falcons have the fourth-best run defense in the NFL through five weeks, and this was an area that was a sore spot for this unit a season ago.
And then there's the linebacking room, his true bread and butter. Divine Deablo has done his thing, and both Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. have impressed to the point they're both looking like absolute gems. He's developed his LB room from the ground up, and you have to give him credit for it.
There's a reason Jeff Ulbrich may get head coaching buzz, because he's one of the better defensive minds in the NFL--and the way he's turned this defense around has been nothing short of amazing. So of course, Arthur Blank knew losing him was way too valuable, and he got proven right for that call.
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