From a working relationship standpoint, I get it. The Atlanta Falcons had to let Jimmy Lake go. He may have come over from the Los Angeles Rams to be part of Raheem Morris' first coaching staff in Flowery Branch. While he was an effective defensive coordinator previously at Washington, he was not a good head coach leading the Huskies. His side of the ball let the Falcons down big time in 2024.
Flash forward to the early stages of this current offseason. Morris opted to bring back his former Falcons colleague Jeff Ulbrich to lead his defense now and going forward. They were prominent parts of Dan Quinn's coaching staff in Atlanta from 2015 to 2020. Morris served as the interim head coach once Quinn was let go. Ulbrich was then promoted to defensive coordinator to backfill Morris' role.
Although Ulbrich had prominent roles on the New York Jets coaching staff in recent years, first as Robert Saleh's defensive coordinator, before replacing him as the interim head coach for the better part of last year, I kind of wonder if siding with familiarity is going to backfire on Morris once again. He got burned big time by empowering Lake. I do not think it will be that bad, but the stakes are higher.
There were other defensive coordinator candidates out there Atlanta could have hired instead, too.
Raheem Morris may have put too much trust and faith in Jeff Ulbrich
Of the handful of defensive coordinator candidates Atlanta interviewed before settling on Ulbrich, the two that stuck out to me where Lou Anarumo and Matt Eberflus. Anarumo led the Cincinnati Bengals defense the last few years and has a great rapport with Jessie Bates III. He now leads the defense for the Indianapolis Colts. Eberflus might have failed leading the Chicago Bears, but he knows defense.
It may be a partnership that works out for the Falcons. Morris and Ulbrich consider each other among their very best friends in the world. So far this offseason, Atlanta has signed Leonard Floyd to help augment their pass rush before taking Georgia star Jalon Walker and Tennessee standout James Pearce Jr. in the first round. Ulbrich is a former linebacker himself, but can we finally get a pass rush?
Overall, the professional world is all about connections. The fact that Morris and Ulbrich have one from a previous staff is a huge reason why the former Jets defensive coordinator is now coordinating the Falcons. Again, I may be down on the hiring more than other members of Dirty Bird Nation. I just know what I saw out of the Falcons defense under Quinn's watch. Will things get better for them now?
Ultimately, I feel that the Falcons will be defined by how good their offense is this year, as opposed to the potential bend but do not break defense it puts forth. Michael Penix Jr. can raise this team's ceiling, but only Ulbrich, Morris and the rest of the defensive staff can elevate its floor. Atlanta will either make the NFC playoffs or come up well short once again, based on the play of its defense.
I wish I was more cautiously optimistic about this hire, but I have found the Falcons' Achilles heel.