Upon taking over as interim head coach, Jeff Ulbrich has maintained his role as the Jets’ defensive play-caller. That remains the case for the time being, but in the wake of the unit’s struggles he could wind up delegating those duties. 
Under Robert Saleh, New York allowed an average of 17 points and 255 yards per game this season. Ulbrich served as the team’s defensive coordinator over that span, but Saleh’s firing added to Ulbrich’s day-to-day responsibilities. The latter has continued to lead the defense during his tenure as interim HC, but in that time the Jets have regressed defensively. The team has surrendered 26.2 points and 346 yards per contest under Ulbrich across the past six games.
“It’s extremely hard to see the unit not perform as well as they’re capable of performing,” Ulbrich said (via Jared Schwartz of the New York Post). “That’s on me and our staff, and on every defensive player in there to regain the standard that we’ve created here in the last couple of years because we’re not playing as well as we need to play and we’re not playing as well as we’re capable of playing. Part of that will be this week and getting back on track.”
Ulbrich made it clear he is not ceding play-calling duties “as of today,” but he added the next few days will include an assessment of where things stand. Delegating would allow the 47-year-old to focus on his other duties during his first career head coaching opportunity. Given the Jets’ 1-5 record since Ulbrich took over, a change may help spark a rebound to close out the campaign.
Schwartz names senior defensive assistant Tony Oden and defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel as options to take on play-calling responsibilities in the event Ulbrich were to give them up. How the team proceeds on that front during its bye week will be interesting to follow. Sunday’s loss leaves the Jets with a record of 3-8, making a postseason berth highly unlikely.
Ulbrich is of course a candidate to land the full-time HC spot for 2025, but the Jets are already looking into options outside the organization. How the team performs after the bye will be key in determining Ulbrich’s future, something which may include a different defensive play-caller being installed soon.
Gee, it’s almost like firing the head coach and making the defensive coordinator focus on a million things other than defense torpedoed the defense more than it accomplished anything else.
Sure, wait until the team has basically been eliminated to make changes. Yet another brilliant move!
Maybe they could have a lottery or raffle and let two fans call the defense each half. Name the winner on Tuesday, and they get to hang out at practice, have a call sheet, wear the headset, etc. I would open it for the offense, but AR would appoint himself winner each week.
“Ulbrich delegating HC duties.”
Fixed it.