Jeff Ulbrich Receives Multiple Key Endorsements to Stick Around Falcons

It will come down to what the next head coach is looking for, but the Atlanta Falcons DC received two major votes of confidence after the season

The Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator received two big thumbs up to keep his job | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday, following Atlanta’s 19-17 Week 18 win over the New Orleans Saints. The Falcons finished the season with an 8-9 record, their second straight season with eight wins.

With a new regime set to take over, likely, most of the Falcons’ personnel will not return next season. However, linebacker Josh Woods would like to see Atlanta retain one member of the staff, specifically defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, for the 2026 season.

“I think he’s a heck of a coach,” Woods said Monday. “Created a heck of a culture that I hope you guys could see on the field and developed a true connection with each and every one of the guys.”

Along with Woods, Ulbrich received a major endorsement from the team’s owner, Arthur Blank.

“Jeff Ulbrich, in my view, he did a really fine job for us this year,” Blank said. “Certainly, look at the record of sacks and just the overall performance of the defense was definitely better than it's been in the past. You can't dictate to a new head coach who their coaches are going to be, but I certainly would recommend to a new head coach that they consider Jeff based on his track record.”

Ulbrich completely turned around a Falcons’ pass rush that finished second-to-last in sacks in 2024. Atlanta finished second in the league in sacks with 57 this season, beating the old franchise record of 55 sacks from 1997.

While some of the turnaround is due to the personnel the Falcons brought in during the offseason, namely first-round edge rushers James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker, Ulbrich also got the most out of guys already on the roster.

Brandon Dorlus was drafted in the fouth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. However, in his rookie season, he saw just 19 snaps. In 2025, he was second on the team in sacks, with 8.5, and led all interior defenders in the NFC. The guy couldn’t see the field in 2024 and then had more sacks in a season than veteran Grady Jarrett had during his time in Atlanta.

Zach Harrison thrived after his position switch, finishing the season with a career high of 4.5 sacks despite playing just seven games.

Not to mention, Atlanta’s rotational guys were amazing. LaCale London finished the season with 5.0 sacks despite playing just 200 snaps. He was also a top 11 run defender in the NFL per Pro Football Focus. Kentavius Street added two sacks. Sam Roberts had a sack in the fourth quarter of a game against the reigning MVP, Josh Allen. The Falcons' defensive line was deep this year.

In the secondary, Dee Alford saw a redemption season after a year in which he gave up over 700 yards and eight touchdowns. Alford had three interceptions this season (after recording zero last season), two in primetime, and the Falcons won every game in which he had an interception. Alford allowed 50 or fewer yards in 11 of his 15 games this season and under 10 yards in three games.

So Ulbrich did well with maximizing the talent of the guys on the roster. The rookies also thrived under him, with James Pearce Jr. setting a franchise record for sacks by a Falcons rookie with 10.5. That number was also the most sacks by any rookie since Micah Parsons’ 13.5 in 2021.

Jalon Walker finished second amongst all rookies in sacks with 5.5, and finished sixth out of 115 edges in PFF run defense grade. Safety Xavier Watts led all rookies in interceptions with five, and was tied for the second most amongst all defenders. Watts was the first defender to have 60 or more tackles and three or more interceptions as a rookie since 2017.

The Falcons were second in total defense in the NFL before linebacker Divine Deablo was injured in Week 7 vs the San Francisco 49ers.

Jeff Ulbrich did a remarkable job with the Falcons' defense this season, fielding arguably the best pass rush the Atlanta Falcons have ever had in franchise history. 

With the Falcons facing major changes this offseason, the coordinator’s future remains up in the air. However, given the historic production and development across the defense in 2025, the desire to keep Ulbrich is backed by results.