Raheem Morris All In on New Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich

The Atlanta Falcons started their mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday, and there are a lot of new faces in Flowery Branch, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

New defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is being tasked with putting all of the new pieces of the puzzle together, and head coach Raheem Morris had nothing but praise for Ulbrich and what he’s seen to this point.

"They've done a nice job of getting it going," Morris said at mini-camp on Tuesday of Ulbrich and his defense. "The detail, the effort, the discipline that Jeff has brought to our defense, the leadership that he's brought us has been absolutely outstanding. It's been on display all offseason.”

Ulbrich and Morris have a long history together. They worked together in Atlanta from 2015 to 2020. After Dan Quinn was fired in 2020, Morris was promoted to interim head coach, and he named Ulbrich his defensive coordinator.

Neither was part of Arthur Smith’s staff in 2021, and Ulbrich went on to become the New York Jets' defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2024. He’s the only coordinator in the last three years to have a team ranked in the top five for total defense in each of the last three seasons.

While Ulbrich spent six seasons in Atlanta and is reunited with Morris, there are a lot of unfamiliar faces suiting up for the Falcons now. Morris has been impressed with how seamlessly Ulbrich is blending them all together.

“Getting a chance to really watch him bond with these new players that he has on this team, to be able to get the new guys that we've been able to add to the older guys that we've already had. To watch these guys go out there and get it done really fires me up and is really exciting.”

The Falcons brought back Ulbrich after firing first-time defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. Lake’s first season in the NFL as a defensive coordinator may have been his last. The Falcons started last season with a historically depressing pass rush, registering just 10 sacks in the first 11 games of the season.

They ended the season with 21 sacks in the final six games of the season, but they were bottom five in key metrics such as third-down percentage, points-per-drive against, and completion percentage against, among others.

Former Falcons’ outside linebacker Matthew Judon complained about Jimmy Lake’s scheme following a celebrity basketball game last month. He said that Lake had him dropping into coverage far too often. The hope is that Ulbrich unleashes a much more aggressive defense than the passive, prevent scheme employed by Lake.

Morris likely won’t get the chance to correct another mistake at defensive coordinator. So he and the Falcons are all in on Ulbrich, and he seems a much safer bet.