The Jets continued their seek for a brand new coach on Monday by interviewing somebody they know effectively.
Jeff Ulbrich, who served because the Jets interim coach for the ultimate 12 video games, was interviewed for the everlasting teaching place.
On Oct. 8, after Jets proprietor Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh following a 2-3 begin, Ulbrich, who was the defensive coordinator, turned the staff’s interim coach. Johnson hoped Ulbrich would ignite a spark and lead Gang Inexperienced to the playoffs. Nevertheless, Saleh’s firing had the other impact.
Beneath Ulbrich, 47, the Jets went 3-9, ending 5-12 and in third place within the AFC East for the second consecutive season. Gang Inexperienced was the preseason favourite to win the AFC East.
“First of all, 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 mentioned final week. “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 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. They finished in a way that they should all be proud of and for that, I’m forever grateful.”
Ulbrich turned the Jets defensive coordinator in 2021 after Saleh was employed. Earlier than that, Ulbrich was a 10-year linebacker for the 49ers and an assistant coach for the Seahawks, UCLA, and the Falcons.
After Ulbrich was made interim coach, he additionally maintained his duties as defensive coordinator. Nevertheless, it appeared that carrying twin hats was an excessive amount of for Ulbrich, and the Jets’ protection suffered due to it.
Previous to turning into the Jets interim coach, Ulbrich had no head teaching expertise at any stage. Though the Jets protection completed third general in yards allowed (313.8) this season, it completed twentieth in factors allowed (23.8), which was worse than the earlier season (20.9).
After the 40-14 loss to the Payments on Dec. 29, Ulbrich was requested to judge Aaron Rodgers‘ performance, and his response was jaw-dropping.
“Honestly, I didn’t get to see a complete lot of the offense,” Ulbrich mentioned. “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.
In addition to that and his questionable game management decisions, the Jets lost six games in which they were leading in the fourth quarter. Gang Green also committed 137 penalties in 2024, which led the league.
In hindsight, Ulbrich said if he could do it over again, he would not be both the defensive coordinator and coach.
“I would much rather have the ability to go from offense to defense to special teams,” Ulbrich mentioned. “There’s moments, especially on gameday, where I’m busy being a defensive coordinator where my resources might be better equipped at being the head coach, just at certain times within games, and there’s times definitely where being a head coach can get in the way of prepping for defense for me, and vice versa.”
The Jets started interviewing candidates in the course of the closing few video games of the season. Ulbrich mentioned having different candidates within the constructing wasn’t uncomfortable whereas the Jets had been getting ready to win video games.
“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,” Ulbrich mentioned. “I’m far from perfect, and I’m excited about that opportunity to really, with a fine-tooth comb evaluate every decision.”
Ulbrich is the ninth recognized candidate to interview for the Jets teaching job. Ron Rivera, Mike Vrabel, Rex Ryan, Mike Locksley, Aaron Glenn, Matt Nagy, Darren Rizzi, and Steve Spagnuolo had been all beforehand interviewed for the place.
Johnson employed The thirty third Workforce in November to assist determine candidates for each the final supervisor and training positions. This was after Johnson fired basic supervisor Joe Douglas after five-plus seasons.
The Jets have interviewed 13 candidates for his or her basic supervisor emptiness.
