As expected, Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich will get a shot at the full-time gig. He expects to interview with the team’s decision-makers next week, per Brian Costello of The New York Post.
Ulbrich was handed the interim job after Robert Saleh was fired due to the Jets’ 2-3 start, but the coaching change has been disastrous. Under Saleh, the Jets outscored their opponents 93-85. Since then, the team has gone 2-9 with a -86 point differential.
Most concerning is the drop-off in New York’s pass defense. With Saleh as head coach and Ulbrich as defensive coordinator, the Jets allowed just 136.6 passing yards and 17.0 points per game. Ulbrich wasn’t able to continue that success as head coach, surrendering 217.5 passing yards and 27.2 points per game without significant improvements on offense.
Such a long, unsuccessful stint as an interim is likely to doom Ulbrich’s prospects to be the Jets’ head coach next year, though he was well-regarded within the organization when he first took over. He will have to win over owner Woody Johnson, who was considering firing Ulbrich in 2023 but warmed to the former linebacker after multiple interview requests from the 49ers.
Johnson may still prefer a defensive-minded head coach. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could fit that bill after fielding a top-10 scoring defense despite a myriad of injuries. Glenn is “considered a very early favorite” for the job in New York, per Albert Breer and Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated. Glenn spent eight years of his playing career with the Jets, who drafted him with the 12th overall pick in 1994. He made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 1997 and 1998 and only left New York because he was drafted by the Texans in the 2002 NFL expansion draft.
Glenn ultimately retired as a Texan, but got his first non-playing NFL job with the Jets as a personnel scout in 2012. He transitioned to coaching with the Browns in 2014 and the Saints in 2016 before he was hired to lead the Lions defense in 2021. The Lions were a bottom-five defense in Glenn’s first two seasons, but began to show improvement in 2023. Injuries have ravaged the unit this year, Glenn has managed to keep the unit afloat despite the devastating loss of Aidan Hutchinson, who was building a strong Defensive Player of the Year campaign before breaking his leg in October. Glenn’s pitch to the Jets will be simple: combine the Lions’ cultural and schematic success on both sides of the ball with a talented Jets roster.
Aaron Glenn deserves it
I vote Rex Ryan as D coordinator for the content tho
What did Glenn do to deserve the Jets?
Have you seen the Lions defense?
lol
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Ulbrich aka dead man walking
Definitely just a show of respect to him as the Interim HC. With their current GM candidates, I don’t see them rolling with Ulbrich. They will want a fresh start to give them a runway to build the team. If Ulbrich gets the job, it signifies that they are running it back another year.
Rex Ryan would be an utter flop. Guy hasn’t coached in this era of football. He’s just a guy who no one watches on ESPN.
I bet if Robinson gets the GM Job, Vrabel could be the guy tapped as HC with their NE connection. That would signify a rebuild launches as well.
It’ll just be interesting how far this rebuild goes. I think this is the year that we learned that toxic organizations start at the top with scattered and inconsistent direction & that it is very hard to overcome.
If the Jets simply fired Saleh in January 2024, and hired a new coach (Belicheck) – I think they avoid the mess that this has become. This team’s lack of game management & preparation from Saleh & staff was always a talking point. It seems like they were missing a true leader.
Conversely, if they didn’t fire him at all – I wonder if they avoid the mess that this has become too. Just inconsistent.
Rodgers has largely rebounded from his injury, and subtract a very weird game in Buffalo (what was with all of those penalties early on?) – he has been efficient.
A reasonable take, I largely agree. I thought the Saleh firing was both too soon and too late. Why not fire him in the offseason if youre gonna only going to let him be there for 4-5 weeks? Wish we got Harbaugh
Competent coaching & game management likely is a big “what if” here. A lot of blown leads late in games. FG blunders. Silly mistakes that a well-coached team doesn’t seem to go through as often as the 2024 Jets went through.
They had some talent to work with, can’t be denied with what their 2024 Outlook was by many experts. Feel like they were caught in this no-mans land. Remember the report about Woody not liking Ulbrich until SF requested to interview him for their vacant DC position? That is one of the most alarming reports that came out, showed that he has no idea what he is doing.
Harbaugh would have been fantastic with his coaching style and philosophy – run the ball, play stout defense, and build through the OL. Drafting Alt, Slater coming back healthy, Bozeman coming in as a stopgap at Center. I am sure they will continue to build the IOL this offseason through draft or FA. Could have been a recipe for the Jets. Would have been much better game planning and management under Harbaugh than we saw under Saleh & Ulbrich.
But, Harbaugh likely doesn’t come under Joe Douglas. That Horvitz-Harbaugh pairing signaled consistency and alignment. Need that to be successful in this league.
That 4th & short play on the first drive that Braelon Allen got stuffed on – 4th round pick Max Mitchell got completely blown off the ball by Greg Rousseau. Not great development of Warren & Mitchell to be depth pieces, as they both largely have struggled (both 4th round selections in ’22 & ’23). Then, they sign Tyron Smith at LT, and play Olu Fashanu at RT (out of position) early on. Idk what the vision is here. Fashanu already was looked at as needing some development, and they force him to play out of position early. We can continue to dissect some of these personnel decisions. Doesn’t all fall on the QB.
Really, really good points, salotelli (I get that you were going for Hortiz, not Horvitz, above).
“Come on in Jeff. No need to sit, this ‘interview’ won’t take long.”
For what?
Ulbrich may be an independently good coach in a vacuum, but given just how awfully this year has gone since he took over (which is definitely not entirely his fault), I don’t see how he could really have a chance.
Really just a show of respect, tip of the cap move. They can also get some insight into the past 3 years from his vantage point as DC to IHC.
Ulbrich is not head coach material. He needs to stay a coordinator. This is pretty obvious.