Raheem Morris bets on someone he knows well from the past for a brighter future, but will it work?

You get the sense that Raheem Morris would have hired Jeff Ulbrich to be his defensive coordinator in early 2024 had it been an option, so the fact that he’s the defensive coordinator in 2025 is no great surprise. As Tre’Shon Diaz wrote last night, Morris prizes his relationships with coaches he knows and trusts, so the hire we half-expected is the one we ought to have expected even as the list of interviews burgeoned in the past week.

The last...

A familiar face is heading back to the Falcons’ sideline.

The Atlanta Falcons have concluded their search for a new defensive coordinator and landed on a familiar face, former positions coach Jeff Ulbrich. Raheem Morris has always leaned heavily on his former relationships, and to the surprise of few, he prioritized that during this process.

To say that Ulbrich was one of the least inspiring candidates for the job would be an understatement. The former interim head coach and defensive coordinator for the New York Jets has limited play-calling experience and was a part of a Jets defense oozing with...

Raheem Morris just fired a former college coach who struggled at coordinating Atlanta’s defense. Now Morris’s looking at replacements at the other side of the experience spectrum.

The Atlanta Falcons avoided major changes this offseason with top personnel like head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot returning. The one notable change, other than whatever actually happens with Kirk Cousins, was Jimmy Lake’s firing. Lake coached a scrappy yet overperforming defense into a scrappy yet underperforming defense in his only season.

Now the coordinator search is on. For some, the search kicking off early with a coordinator with a...

Raheem Moore just fired a former college coach who struggled at coordinating Atlanta’s defense. Now Moore’s looking at replacements at the other side of the experience spectrum.

The Atlanta Falcons avoided major changes this offseason with top personnel like head coach Raheem Moore and general manager Terry Fontenot returning. The one notable change, other than whatever actually happens with Kirk Cousins, was Jimmy Lake’s firing. Lake coaches a scrappy yet overperforming defense into a scrappy yet underperforming defense in only season.

Now the coordinator search is on. For some, the search kicking off early with a coordinator with a [long...

Who has been interviewed, and where might the Falcons go next?

The Atlanta Falcons fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake last weekend, canning the first-time NFL coordinator after the team’s defensive collapse played a major role in their missed opportunity to make the playoffs and embarrassing loss to the Panthers to ensure another losing record.

Raheem Morris was expected to look for a more experienced candidate and go with one he was familiar with, which instantly made interim Jets head coach (and former Falcons interim defensive coordinator) Jeff Ulbrich and longtime NFL defensive coordinator and summer practice visitor Steve Wilks obvious...

Atlanta’s continuing to go beyond the expected names in their search for a defensive coordinator.

Add another unexpected name to the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator search. After interviewing Packers defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley, the Falcons will reportedly interview Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown for the opening created by the firing of Jimmy Lake.

That news comes from NFL insider Tom Pelissero, who reported it a short time ago.

Brown has spent four seasons as Pittsburgh’s secondary coach, and before that either had that position or defensive coordinator jobs with a host of college programs, including Houston, South Carolina,...

The Falcons roll into the 2025 offseason with only four draft picks and a multitude of needs, primarily on defense. In our first mock draft of the cycle, Atlanta targets the trenches.

We did it. Somehow, we got through the entire 2024 Atlanta Falcons season without me making a mock draft. It’s the first time that’s happened in ages! Unfortunately, the team didn’t come through with making the playoffs, but they did at least hold our interest through the end of the regular season. I guess that’s some kind of minor accomplishment?

At any rate, the offseason has begun. Atlanta...

Ansley is the first major surprise in this round of interviews.

While Wink Martindale was a surprise, the Atlanta Falcons have clearly been prioritizing experience in their defensive coordinator interviews to this point. Unlike Jimmy Lake, who was entering his first year as a coordinator at the NFL level, the likes of Martindale, Jeff Ulbrich, Lou Anarumo, and Steve Wilks all have multiple years of experience in that role. The safe assumption has been that the Falcons want a more seasoned coach after Lake washed out after just one year in Atlanta.

The only interview to challenge that assumption is...

We kick off our 2024 roster review series with a look at the quarterback position, which featured an experienced veteran in Kirk Cousins and an exciting rookie in Michael Penix Jr.

2024 was another year of preseason hope and regular season disappointment for Atlanta Falcons fans. After a hot 6-3 start, Atlanta collapsed to 8-9 and missed the playoffs despite sweeping the division-leading Buccaneers.

Much of that had to do with the quarterback position. Atlanta gave huge money to veteran Kirk Cousins in an effort to “win now”, all while drafting an exciting rookie in Michael Penix Jr. at eight...

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

The Atlanta Falcons social team blessed us with their top ten plays from the 2024 season and the reception underneath it is…about what you would expect.

Fans are upset about the way that the season ended, and they have every right to be. Allowing the Buccaneers to overtake the division, not once, but twice, after sweeping them earlier in the year. Getting below-average play from a quarterback that is being paid a lion’s share of the current, and potentially future, salary cap. Seeing no identity from the defense that led to...

It’s the second straight year Williams will coach the East squad.

Marquice Williams is someone I’ve mentioned as a potential future head coach, given the way players and coaches talk about him and the work he’s done with Atlanta’s special teams. While that hasn’t happened yet with an NFL team, it’s now happened twice in three years at the Shrine Bowl.

The Atlanta Falcons special teams coordinator was Arthur Smith’s nominee to coach the East squad in 2023, where his squad took part in a game that appropriately enough featured nothing but field goals. Now he’ll get another chance to...

Strong ties to Raheem Morris make Ulbrich a strong candidate.

Jeff Ulbrich and Raheem Morris shared a coaching staff for a long time for the Atlanta Falcons, including a 2020 season that saw Dan Quinn fired and Ulbrich taking on the defensive coordinator role while Morris took over as interim head coach. Given those strong ties, it’s little surprise that Ulbrich is interviewing for the team’s defensive coordinator opening.

Ulbrich’s interview is complete, making him the second known conducted interview and putting him on a list of candidates that now includes Steve Wilks, Wink Martindale, and Lou Anarumo.

Ulbrich enjoyed...