The hiring of Jeff Ulbrich shouldn’t be precisely being obtained with glee, an comprehensible factor once you’re bringing again the interim defensive coordinator from a forgettable 2020 season to hitch Raheem Morris, who was the interim head coach throughout that forgettable 2020 season and who’s contemporary off an 8-9 2024 marketing campaign. That’s a protracted, run-on sentence, however there’s quite a bit happening there that isn’t precisely pleasant on paper for Atlanta Falcons followers cautious of the identical outdated stuff.
The Falcons can be sure we neglect about our preliminary reactions if they will really get this protection to enhance significantly. As we’ve all written and mentioned right here at The Falcoholic, that’s not precisely a given, contemplating the shaky state of the protection and the restricted assets presently obtainable to higher it. The Falcons should get extra out of what they’ve, and on that entrance, the primary candidate we’ve seen linked to their line of defense coach emptiness is definitely a really intriguing one.
The #Falcons are interviewing #Texans assistant DL coach Nate Ollie for his or her vacant DL job, supply says. Ollie, who was labored alongside new DC Jeff Ulbrich with the #Jets in 2021, helped coach up Houston’s entrance to 49 sacks, tied for fourth-most within the league this season.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 20, 2025
Nate Ollie has overseen some spectacular line of defense performances lately, significantly from a cross rush perspective. Not solely did Houston put up 49 sacks, as Mike Garafolo famous, however they did so after shedding main sack artist Jonathan Greenard and truly added 5 sacks from 2023. The addition of Danielle Hunter helped with that, however Ollie was a part of a training employees that oversaw actual development from Will Anderson and others.
Ollie was additionally the line of defense coach for the Colts in 2022 and 2023, once they put up 44 and 51 sacks, most of which got here from the crew’s defensive entrance. They cratered to the tune of simply 36 sacks this previous season, and Ollie was additionally a well-regarded assistant line of defense coach for the Jets in Jeff Ulbrich’s first season there and the Eagles from 2019-2020. The familiarity with Ulbrich probably makes him a robust candidate, however his presence on teaching staffs that oversaw terrific cross rushes is what makes him an fascinating rent for this Falcons crew.
Bear in mind, this crew will go into subsequent 12 months needing extra from Grady Jarrett, David Onyemata, or each, relying on who comes again. They’ll need to guarantee second-year success for Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus, in addition to any rookie investments and free brokers they add to the road. Getting a superb coach within the constructing who has a monitor file of working with efficient defensive strains could possibly be a real difference-maker, and primarily based on the caliber of strains Ollie has labored with, he may match the invoice.
We’ll see if he’s employed, however on first blush I like Ollie as a possible addition for a line of defense that badly wants assist.
