Jeff Ulbrich Speaks out on Falcons Blocking His Job Opportunities This Offseason

The Atlanta Falcons received some criticism from pundits for preventing defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich from interviewing with other NFL teams this offseason. The Falcons did that without promising Ulbrich a place under the team's next head coach.

That move could have potentially hurt Ulbrich's chances of landing another defensive coordinator job this offseason. But the veteran coach didn't see it that way.

Ulbrich explained to reporters this week how much it meant that the Falcons found him valuable enough to potentially keep for 2026.

"Typically, a staff gets fired. It is that. The staff gets fired, and everybody goes along their way," Ulbrich told reporters Tuesday. "For them to hold on to my contract, first of all, I was blown away.

"Just, I mean, it was an honor. It was an honor for the organization to want to keep me, in spite of us not winning as many games as we thought we could have and should have. So in that, I was honored."

Jeff Ulbrich Staying With Atlanta Falcons as Defensive Coordinator

Falcons owner Arthur Blank explained to the media in early January he wouldn't "dictate" to his next head coach that he had to keep Ulbrich as defensive coordinator. But Blank said he would recommend it.

So, the team prevented the defensive coordinator from interviewing elsewhere. New head coach Kevin Stefanski ultimately did retain Ulbrich as Falcons DC.

The Falcons defense made tremendous strides in Ulbrich's first year as defensive coordinator. No statistical category conveys that more than the 57 sacks the defense recorded in 2025.

During 2024, the Falcons had just 31 sacks.

In one season under Ulbrich, the Falcons went from second-to-last to second in the league in sacks.

For that reason alone, it made a lot of sense for Atlanta to retain Ulbrich. The Falcons also improved in other key defensive statistics, including yards and points allowed.

With the team hiring offensive-minded head coach Kevin Stefanski, keeping Ulbrich as DC became a realistic goal.

Falcons Blocked a Jeff Ulbrich Interview With Dallas Cowboys

Ulbrich likely would have received interest from multiple teams had he reached the open market this offseason. For certain, the Dallas Cowboys requested to interview the Falcons DC.

ESPN's Todd Archer reported on January 8 the Falcons blocked the Cowboys from potentially interviewing Ulbrich.

The Cowboys were denied by Atlanta to talk with Jeff Ulbrich for DC job, according to sources. He remains under contract w/ the Falcons despite their search for a head coach. A potential interview can be revisited later if they hire a HC, who has a different coordinator in mind.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) January 8, 2026

By staying in Atlanta, Ulbrich will receive the opportunity to continue working with the pieces he maximized on defense last season. His job could be a lot harder depending on the outcome of James Pearce Jr.'s future.

But the Falcons have other promising pieces at all three levels of their defense.

"I said it last year, for the vast majority of the season, that was year one for us within this defense. And in that, there's a lot of growth opportunity," said Ulbrich. But there's also a lot of struggles that you’ve got to learn from.

"And in that, by finally getting this opportunity in the offseason to take a deep breath, reflect, and look at it from that 10,000-foot view, it's exciting to think where we can take it."