Tag Archives: Atlanta Falcons

UCLA announces departure of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich

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UCLA has officially announced the departure of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who leaves the position after just one year.

Ulbrich is leaving to join the Atlanta Falcons, returning to the NFL to become a linebackers coach. The announcement comes two days after the 37-year-old accepted his new job.

“I would like to thank Coach Ulbrich for everything he has done for UCLA Football over the past three years,” UCLA head coach Jim Mora said in a statement. “The hard work he put in on a daily basis was surpassed only by his dedication to helping develop our student-athletes both on and off the field. It was a pleasure working alongside him and watching him develop as a coach, and I anticipate nothing but success for him in the future.”

Mora will soon be hiring his third defensive coordinator at UCLA.

Jeff Ulbrich leaves UCLA to join Atlanta Falcons coaching staff

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UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will leave the Bruins to join the Atlanta Falcons staff, two days after news first broke that he was considering an offer to become the NFL team’s linebackers coach.

Bruin Report Online first reported the news.

Ulbrich, 37, had just completed his first year as UCLA’s defensive coordinator, having been promoted after two seasons as the team’s linebackers and special teams coordinator. On Wednesday morning, shortly after four-star linebacker Roquan Smith had announced his commitment to the Bruins, reports surfaced that Ulbrich would be joining the Atlanta Falcons and new head coach Dan Quinn.

Smith then reopened his recruitment, and is currently deciding between UCLA, Georgia, Texas A&M and Michigan.

UCLA head coach Jim Mora said on Wednesday that Ulbrich had not yet accepted the offer, and said he would “fight tooth and nail to keep him.” Both Mora and Quinn coached Ulbrich when he was a San Francisco 49ers linebacker.

The Bruins will head into the 2015 season with their third defensive coordinator in as many years. Lou Spanos, who held the position for the first two seasons of the Mora era, left to become the Tennessee Titans linebackers coach in January 2014.

Roquan Smith in ‘no rush’ to decide on college destination

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Roquan Smith is getting a second chance to sort out his recruitment, and he’s going to take his time doing it.

The four-star linebacker’s coach at Montezuma (Ga.) Macon County, Larry Harold, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the decision could take “a week or so” — although the process could stretch on even longer. And while UCLA is still in the running along with Georgia, Texas A&M and Michigan, Smith sounds like he is considering the Bruins under the assumption that defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will become the Atlanta Falcons’ new linebackers coach.

Smith had announced for the Bruins over UGA on ESPNU Wednesday morning, only to hear reports of Ulbrich’s potential departure soon after.

Harold, to the AJC:

“It’s not an open recruitment really, it’s just the same four schools and he’s going to take a week or so to decide. He’s going to take this weekend off, spend time with his family and relax, be a teenager. And then next week maybe he’ll start calling some coaches again and rehash it all. … There’s no rush.”

The high school coach spoke about Ulbrich’s decision between UCLA and the Falcons in the past tense — treating it as a done deal rather than an open possibility. He said that although Ulbrich had not officially agreed to a deal, the Bruin defensive coordinator had said “he was strongly considering it.”

The AJC reported in the same article that Ulbrich is in Atlanta today touring the Falcons’ facilities.

Jim Mora: Jeff Ulbrich still ‘contemplating’ Falcons’ job offer

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The Atlanta Falcons have offered UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich a position as the linebackers coach, interrupting what was looking like a very successful National Signing Day.

However, the 37-year-old has yet to decide whether to accept the job opening.

“Jeff has assured me he has not come to a conclusion yet,” said UCLA head coach Jim Mora. “He is contemplating whether or not he wants to do that. I’m going to fight tooth and nail to keep him here because I think he’s an outstanding coach. …

“I’m going to fight like crazy to keep that sucker, and it’s going to be a battle, because Dan Quinn, he’s a fighter.”

Mora said that newly hired Falcons head coach Dan Quinn first reached out to him as a courtesy on Tuesday night, asking if he could contact Ulbrich. Mora said no — smiling, as he recalled the moment — but in the NFL, permission isn’t needed. Mora and Quinn’s relationship stretches back to their time on the San Francisco 49ers staff. The former became the defensive coordinator in 1999, and hired the latter as a defensive quality control coach two years later. Quinn was soon promoted to defensive line coach.

That same connection also ties the men to Ulbrich, who spent his entire 10-year NFL career in San Francisco before retiring from playing in 2009. Continue reading “Jim Mora: Jeff Ulbrich still ‘contemplating’ Falcons’ job offer” »

Atlanta Falcons looking to hire UCLA’s Jeff Ulbrich as assistant

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On National Signing Day, UCLA might be at risk of losing one of its best recruiters.

FOX Sports reported that the Atlanta Falcons are hiring Jeff Ulbrich — who just finished his first season as the Bruins’ defensive coordinator — as a linebackers coach.

However, a source indicated that Ulbrich going to the Falcons is not a done deal. The 37-year old worked as UCLA’s linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for two seasons before being promoted in 2014.

Ulbrich has spoken highly about both UCLA head coach Jim Mora and newly hired Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn, calling both tremendous influences on his defensive philosophy.

The reports could already have significant ramifications on the Bruins’ 2015 recruiting class. Four-star linebacker Roquan Smith committed to UCLA over Georgia on ESPNU this morning, but has not sent in his national letter of intent. The Montezuma, Ga., native called Ulbrich a significant factor in his recruitment.

Smith’s coach at Macon County, Larry Harold, confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Ulbrich’s uncertain status was what held up the commitment.

“We just got off the phone with Ulbrich,” Harold told the AJC. “He said he hasn’t signed any papers with the Falcons. So he talked to Roquan, and he let him know that he was going to check into everything and get back to him. …

“That’s what his decision to UCLA came down to – Roquan’s relationship with Ulbrich. That’s what it came down to as the difference between UGA and UCLA. He has been there since the first day. Recruiting is about the relationships. It always comes down to the relationships.”