Jeff Ulbrich


Jeffery Wade Ulbrich is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He played college football for the Hawaii Warriors and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round in the 2000 NFL draft and played for the 49ers from 2000 to 2009.
After retiring as a player following the 2009 season, Ulbrich was the assistant special teams coach for the Seattle Seahawks for two seasons. He then served as the linebackers and special teams coach at UCLA for three seasons and later served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Falcons for six seasons. From 2021 to 2024, Ulbrich served as defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, being promoted to interim head coach on October 8, 2024, following the firing of Robert Saleh. Since 2025, Ulbrich has served as the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.

Early life

Ulbrich attended Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California, and lettered three times in football and twice in wrestling. In football, he was a First-team All-League and team MVP. In wrestling, he won a league title.

Playing career

College

Ulbrich redshirted in his lone season at San Jose State before transferring to Gavilan College. He earned first-team All-Conference and team MVP in lone season at Gavilan College in Gilroy, California. He was a two-year starter at Hawaii. He earned All-WAC first-team selection and team co-captain as a senior. He started all 12 games at middle linebacker. He led the conference with a school-record 169 tackles his senior year. Ulbrich set a school record with 127 assisted tackles, breaking the old mark of 97. He ranked third in the league with eight sacks for 67 yards. He had 15 tackles for loss. He was credited with eight quarterback pressures, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He returned two interceptions for 38 yards and had one pass defensed. He played in seven games, starting three at strong side inside linebacker as a junior. He finished with 41 tackles, including a nine-yard sack. He caused and recovered a fumble.

National Football League

San Francisco 49ers

Ulbrich was selected out of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2000 NFL draft. He only saw action in four games during his rookie season due to a right shoulder injury. He won the starting job in 2001. In 2005, he started only five games at inside linebacker before missing the remainder of the season with a torn biceps muscle. He started in 9 out of 16 games in 2006. Ulbrich took a backup role to first round pick Patrick Willis, and also a role on special teams. He was placed on injured reserve on October 19, 2009, after he suffered a concussion. Ulbrich announced his plans to retire as a result of the concussion on December 9. Upon retirement, he said that he would like to become a college football coach one day.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

Seattle Seahawks

On January 29, 2010, Ulbrich was hired by the Seattle Seahawks as a special teams assistant.

UCLA

In 2012, Ulbrich became the UCLA Bruins linebackers and special teams coach. Ulbrich was elevated to Assistant Head Coach in the spring of 2012, in addition to his duties with the linebackers and special teams. In February 2014, he was promoted to Defensive Coordinator. Two of his linebacker group, Anthony Barr and Jordan Zumwalt, were selected in the 2014 NFL Draft. Ulbrich's defensive unit was ranked third in the Pac-12 in total defense for 2014. It was led by the Butkus and Lott IMPACT Trophy winner linebacker Eric Kendricks. One of his players, Anthony Barr led the nation in sacks with 13.5.

Atlanta Falcons (first stint)

In 2015, Ulbrich was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as a linebackers coach.
In the 2016 season, Ulbrich and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.
In 2020, Ulbrich was promoted to assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
On October 12, 2020, Ulbrich was named defensive coordinator under interim head coach Raheem Morris, as part of a midseason shakeup of the coaching staff.

New York Jets

On January 21, 2021, Ulbrich was hired by the New York Jets as their defensive coordinator under head coach Robert Saleh. On October 8, 2024, Ulbrich was named interim head coach of the Jets following the firing of head coach Robert Saleh after a 2–3 start of the 2024 season. After losing his first three games as coach, Ulbrich got his first win as a head coach on October 31, against the Houston Texans. Ulbrich finished his stint as Jets interim head coach with a 3–9 record.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On January 18, 2025, Ulbrich was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive coordinator under head coach Raheem Morris.
On January 19, 2026, the Falcons announced that Ulbrich would remain in his same position on the staff of new head coach, Kevin Stefanski.

Personal life

Ulbrich and his wife, Cristina, have three children together.
Ulbrich's son came to media attention in April 2025 after he was involved in a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the 2025 NFL draft, in which his friend pretended to be Saints general manager Mickey Loomis selecting Sanders before saying "you're gonna have to wait a little bit longer." The son got the private phone number from his father's unlocked iPad, and later apologized for his involvement. The NFL fined the Falcons $250,000 and Ulbrich $100,000 for the incident. The league said the fines stemmed from the organization’s failure to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.

Head coaching record

  • Interim head coach