Woody Johnson is calling upon Jeff Ulbrich to rejuvenate the New York Jets’ season after a disappointing first five weeks.
This is not the first time Ulbrich has been sent on a rescue mission after five underwhelming weeks of football.
Following Week 5 of the 2020 season, the Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn due to an 0-5 start. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris was promoted to interim head coach.
Alongside Morris’s promotion, the Falcons made multiple changes to their coaching staff. Among those was the promotion of linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich to the defensive coordinator role vacated by Morris.
It was an extremely daunting job for Ulbrich to take on. At the time, Atlanta’s defense was the equivalent of New York’s current offense. Through their first five games of 2020, the Falcons ranked 31st in both points allowed per game (32.2) and total yards allowed per game (446.0). The yardage mark was the eighth-worst in NFL history through the first five games of a season.
Ulbrich was up for the challenge. He achieved the unthinkable, turning Atlanta’s horrid defense into a respectable unit overnight.
After allowing 30+ points in four of their first five games, the Falcons allowed 27 points or less in eight consecutive games after Ulbrich was promoted to the defensive coordinator role. They ultimately allowed 30+ points in just two of Ulbrich’s 11 games. Ulbrich pulled off this shocking turnaround despite facing a horrifying stretch of opposing offenses; nine of his 11 games were against teams that finished the season ranked in the top 16 of offensive DVOA.
In December of that season, Morris raved about Ulbrich and his impact on Atlanta’s defensive turnaround.
“You talk about the ultimate juice in your football team,” Morris said of Ulbrich. “You talk about authentic energy; you’re talking about a guy that can absolutely light up a room when he comes in it. He is a former player that knows what it’s like to be in the trenches, so he’s sensitive to his guys in that way. He can also give them a type of compassion and a type of learning and a type of development that you can’t get unless you play this game.
“So, those are the things that are really special about Jeff Ulbrich and some of the things that he brings to the table that a lot of coaches can’t bring and then some of the former players can’t articulate. He has a special unique way about himself that allows him to do that.”
The turnaround was remarkable for a unit that looked unsalvageable through five games. Compare Atlanta’s 2020 defensive stats before and after Ulbrich was promoted to defensive coordinator:
- Pre-Ulbrich (Weeks 1-5): 446.0 yards per game (31st), 32.2 points per game (31st), 118.3 passer rating (32nd), 1.0 takeaway per game (18th)
- Ulbrich at DC (Weeks 6-17): 376.7 yards per game (10th), 23.0 points per game (14th), 93.6 passer rating (18th), 1.5 takeaways per game (11th)
Four years later, Jets fans are praying Ulbrich can forge a similar turnaround for New York’s anemic offense.
It will be a far different challenge for Ulbrich, a former NFL linebacker who has only served as a football coach in defensive and special teams roles. He has never been involved offensively in any capacity (unless you count a five-game stint as the Falcons’ assistant head coach in 2020 before Quinn’s firing led to changes in roles). Not to mention, being the head coach is much different than being a coordinator who can focus on one unit.
Nonetheless, it is encouraging to know that Ulbrich already has experience responding to an in-season distress call at this exact point of the year. Not only has he experienced it, but he grabbed the bull by the horns and achieved immense success in a seemingly hopeless situation. That is exactly what Ulbrich will attempt to do in 2024 – albeit in a much, much different scenario.
