Why Kevin Stefanski Made Jeff Ulbrich His First Priority in Atlanta

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons have made several changes to the heads of their 2026 coaching staff, with Kevin Stefanski as head coach, Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator, and Craig Aukerman as special teams coordinator. They will all be new to Atlanta, but one face will not, and that is Jeff Ulbrich.

“We're excited about retaining Jeff Ulbrich as a defensive coordinator,” Falcons president of football, Matt Ryan, said Tuesday. “He is a great coach… I think he did a great job with our unit last year, a young group that is ascending, and finished the season really strong.”

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Turnover was to be expected after the Falcons finished without a winning record and outside of the playoffs for an eighth straight season, but Arthur Blank made it clear that he wanted the team’s defensive playcaller to remain in Atlanta.

He stopped short of mandating Ulbrich stick around, but the team did block the Dallas Cowboys from interviewing him for their vacancy, clearly indicating where he stood with them.

Stefanski obliged his new owner and made Ulbrich the priority as the 20th head coach in franchise history. The decision snapped a streak of four straight seasons with a new defensive coordinator, a welcome sight after the success the Falcons had.

"There was a very easy conversation with coach and I about how we saw this game of football and how demanding we are of our players," Stefanski explained about why he retained Ulbrich. "Then, just watching the tape and some of the things he was able to do this season with some of our young players, it was really exciting. So, early on, it was obvious to me, and I think it was obvious to him, we really hit it off and are cut from the same cloth, if you will, from a football perspective."

After years of issues on the defensive side of the ball, Ulbrich seemed to bring some stability, helping this unit break records in the process.

Not only did their 57 sacks set a new franchise record, but it also marked just the second time in franchise history that they eclipsed the 50-sack threshold. They went from second-to-last, a place they had become very familiar with over the last two decades, to second in the NFL.

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The Falcons also finished in the top half of the NFL in total defense and passing defense, while in the top 20 in scoring and expected points added (EPA) per play. They did this despite dealing with injuries to several critical pieces at various points in the season.

Atlanta has a young core of players that could stand to use some additional reinforcements this offseason. If this group can continue to improve, they could morph into a reliable unit that the franchise can lean on in the years to come.

Retaining Ulbrich also provides Stefanski with continuity. While the offense and special teams will likely undergo some schematic and philosophical changes, the defense can continue building on a foundation that already proved it can produce at a high level.

That balance should ease the transition into a new regime and allow the Falcons to allocate resources this offseason toward strengthening, rather than rebuilding, that side of the ball.