This week, the Jets decided that if they want to squeeze the best out of this roster, it was time for a change. After three and a half years under Robert Saleh, Jets owner Woody Johnson made the decision to go in another direction, promoting defensive coordinator to interim Head Coach for the rest of the campaign. 

“This is one of the most-talented teams that has ever been assembled by the New York Jets,” Johnson said. “I wanted to give this team the [best] opportunity to win this this season. I feel that we had to go in a different direction and that’s why I did that today. The change that we made today, that I made, I believe will bring new energy and positivity that will lead to more wins, starting now.”

Now the Jets need to try and deliver on the pre-season promises of a season to remember and Jeff Ulbrich has been trusted to lead the way. 

But what can we expect from Coach Ulbrich?

Ask anyone about Ulbrich and two words will come up more often than not: that he was gritty as a player and that he’s respected as a coach. When he talks, people listen. Part of that comes from him having played the game and that’s something that Jets owner Woody Johnson picked up on over the last three years. 

“When he talks, they listen to him in a way that probably represents the fact that he did play the sport at linebacker for 10 years, which is pretty unique,” Johnson said. “So he brings that knowledge and the respect.”

A third round pick of the San Francisco 49ers, Ulbrich had to fight his way into the starting lineup of defensive coordinator Jim Mora and then Willy Robinson, Bill Davis, Greg Manusky before retiring following a concussion in 2009. 

Before his retirement he racked up plenty of stats to hang his hat on. 120 games played, 501 tackles, 32 TFL, 6 forced fumbles and a handful of playoff appearances as well. Playing linebacker in the NFL is always tough, but playing linebacker in the NFL at the turn of the century was about as physically taxing as football gets. 

Ulbrich has been in the trenches, he’s fought that fight and he’s capable of clearly communicating and teaching the lessons learned over that 10 year period. 

Once he decided to hang up his playing cleats he dived into coaching, first under Pete Carroll in Seattle then under his old defensive coordinator Jim Mora at UCLA. When Dan Quinn became the Head Coach over in Atlanta he hired Ulbrich, who he knew from San Francisco.

It says a lot about a man and a coach when people who know you opt to bring you with them when they’re trying to establish their own legacy. Ulbrich has been hand-picked every step of the way.

Working under so many defensive coaches it’s easy to see why Ulbrich is gaining a reputation for adaptability. Defensively the Jets have been able to make in-game adjustments to stifle opponents. The Vikings game on Sunday is a perfect example, after surrendering 17 first half points the Jets shut the door, allowing two field goals over the final 30 minutes. That adaptability gave the Jets a chance to win that game, but unfortunately we came up just short. 

Working with such great minds like Carroll and Mora will almost certainly help you with X’s and O’s and philosophical approaches to how to run a defense, but it also gives you an opportunity to learn about running a team, 53 individuals plus coaching and backroom staff. That’s a lot of human beings with different needs, different approaches and different buttons to push. Something that Pete Carroll is renowned for and something that Ulbrich spoke about on the official Jets podcast. 

“I was from the outside looking in, I was so intrigued by his approach and have such admiration for it,” Ulbrich said. “He had tremendous success at USC, it was his first year in Seattle. He was everything I thought he was and more. It wasn’t just random juice, but focused energy, focused passion. He’s so deliberate in what he does and he really helped me”

This won’t be the first time Jeff has led a team after being given the opportunity to do so at the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl. An experience that should give him a level of confidence heading into this period of his career. 

Defensively the hope is that nothing changes. Despite the 2-3 record the Jets have continued to improve on the defensive side of the ball each week. The run defense has noticeably improved and the pass-defense has lowered the opponents’ team passer rating each week, starting with the 89.9 put up by San Francisco to the 54.6 put up by the red-hot Minnesota Vikings. 

Jeff Ulbrich has overseen an attacking front that plays complementary defense, a quick pass-rush to force poor throws, and tight coverage to allow time for the pass-rush to get home. Under his tutelage we’ve seen Quincy Williams go from waiver-wire pick-up to NFL All-Pro, UDFA Bryce Huff become one of the best pass-rushers in football and the Jets consistently put out a unit that offenses fear.

His challenge will be on the other side of the ball. 

How do the Jets get the most out of this talented offense led by future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers? How do you get the most out of this run-game? There’s far too much talent on that side of the ball for the Jets to be ranked 27th in total offense, 32nd in rush yards per game and 25th in points per game. 

For Ulbrich, everything is on the table when it comes to figuring out the solution. 

“I think everything’s on the table right now,” he said. “We’re not playing to our potential right now – we’re not. We’re too talented to put the product we put out there the last couple of weeks especially, so we have to take a hard look at everything and be honest with ourselves.”

In his first game in charge, he’ll be lifted by an energized home crowd as the Jets fight for first place against the Bills. There are a lot of decisions to be made between now and then, including whether the play-callers remain the same. Will Jeff Ulbrich keep defensive play-calling duties? Will Nathaniel Hackett keep offensive play-calling duties? These are the decisions of a Head Coach; these are now the decisions of Jeff Ulbrich.