With the Jets hiring a new coach soon, Jeff Ulbrich found a home he’s familiar with. On Saturday, the Falcons hired Ulbrich as their defensive coordinator. He will replace Jimmy Lake, who was fired on Jan. 11. Atlanta finished 23rd in the league in both points (24.9) and yards (345.2) allowed yards per game. On Monday, Ulbrich interviewed for the Jets’ permanent coach position. He is one of 15 people who have been interviewed, but Ulbrich was always a long shot to land the job. “I wanted to thank the Johnson family for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Jets even though it was an interim basis,” Ulbrich said on Jan. 6. It was a great honor. One of the great honors of my football career. “I want to thank this fanbase. It’s one of the great fanbases in this game; passionate, all in, and I wish I could have done more for them. I want to thank the coaching staff in this building, the support staff, unbelievable in a very trying year, stayed the course and unwavering support at all times, and then finally want to thank these players because, amazing locker room in the face of real football adversity, they stayed together, they stayed the course.” Ulbrich, 47, returns to Atlanta, where he was a linebackers coach from 2015-19. In 2020, he was promoted to Falcons assistant head coach and later became the team’s defensive coordinator after Raheem Morris was named interim coach after Dan Quinn was fired. Robert Saleh hired Ulbrich as the Jets’ defensive coordinator in 2021 after he was hired as head coach. Gang Green ranked last in yards and points allowed in Ulbrich’s first year as a full-time defensive play-caller. However, from 2022-23, the Jets finished in the top five in yards allowed under Ulbrich’s leadership. The Jets entered the 2024 season with high expectations following Aaron Rodgers’ return from a season-ending Achilles injury. However, the team got off to a 2-3 start, and on Oct. 8, Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh and made Ulbrich the interim coach for the rest of the season. Johnson fired Saleh because he felt like the Jets were underachieving. But the Jets didn’t have much success under Ulbrich, losing nine of their last 12 games to finish the season 5-12. In addition, the Jets’ defense slipped after Ulbrich maintained his duties as defensive coordinator and interim head coach. The Jets defense ranked third overall in yards allowed (313.8) this season, but they finished 20th in points allowed (23.8), which was worse than the previous season (20.9). Following a 40-14 loss to the Bills on Dec. 29, Ulbrich was asked to evaluate Rodgers‘ performance, and he was distracted coaching up the defense. “Honestly, I didn’t get to see a whole lot of the offense,” Ulbrich said. “I was doing a lot of defensive adjustments, especially that first half and a good part of that third quarter. So, we’ll see when I get a good look at the tape.” Ulbrich also made questionable game management decisions at times. Gang Green lost six games in which it led in the fourth quarter. The Jets also led the league in penalties committed in 2024 (137). “There’s a lot of things, and as I really reflect on this, I’ll really be able to put them on paper and define them,” Ulbrich said. “I’ve become very convicted in some of the things that I really believed in that got reinforced, why they’re important and continue to be. “They need to be important, but at the same time there’s things that I need to improve on, and there’s things that I got to take a critical look at myself and find the spaces where I can improve those, I’m far from perfect, and I’m excited about that opportunity to really, with a fine-tooth comb evaluate every decision and everything I did in the last whatever it’s been, 10, 11 weeks.”