Falcons Interview Texans Coach for Defensive Position

The Atlanta Falcons have started conducting interviews for their vacant defensive line coaching position by meeting with Houston Texans assistant Nate Ollie.

Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris interviewed Houston Texans assistant Nate Ollie for their defensive line coach opening. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons are working toward filling the final vacancy on their defensive staff.

Atlanta, which fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers on Jan. 11, hired Jeff Ulbrich as its defensive coordinator on Jan. 18 -- and has started interviews to find its replacement for Rodgers.

According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Falcons are interviewing Houston Texans assistant defensive line coach Nate Ollie for their defensive line coaching role. Ollie worked under Ulbrich in 2021 with the New York Jets.

Ollie, who played defensive tackle at Ball State University from 2010-13, has 11 years of coaching experience, starting in 2014 at Yorktown Middle School. He was a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee from 2015-17 and spent part of 2017 as the interim defensive line coach. In 2018, Ollie coached at Eastern Kentucky University.

The Philadelphia Eagles hired Ollie as their assistant defensive line coach in 2019, and he held the role through 2020. Ollie joined Ulbrich with the Jets in 2021 before becoming the Indianapolis Colts' defensive line coach from 2022-23.

Indianapolis didn't retain Ollie once his contract expired after the 2023 season. Long-time Colts beat reporter Mike Chappell wrote the team's decision to not retain Ollie was "strange" considering his unit's success.

"The Colts set a franchise record with 51 sacks and Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, the team’s top two picks in the 2021 draft, showed marked progress," Chappell wrote in January 2024. "Paye, a first-round pick, set career highs with 8.5 sacks and 52 tackles. Odeyingbo, a second-rounder in ’21, also set career bests with 8 sacks and 32 tackles."

Ollie spent 2024 with the Texans, assisting a defensive front that tallied 49 sacks, which tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.

Now, Ollie's next stop may include Atlanta -- though the team's search remains ongoing.