Former University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa football linebacker Jeff Ulbrich was named the New York Jets interim head coach for the remainder of the 2024 season. Ulbrich is just the second former Rainbow Warrior to become head coach of an NFL franchise joining June Jones (Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers).
Ulbrich has served as Jets defensive coordinator since 2021. Previously he coached for the Falcons from 2015–20 and also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks (2010–11) and UCLA (2012–14).
The Morgan Hill, California native played two seasons at linebacker for the Rainbow Warriors from 1998–99 and was part of the NCAA’s all-time turnaround team, from a winless campaign in 1998 to a nine-win, Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship season in 1999. He earned first-team all-WAC honors during his record-breaking senior year in which he set a single-season school record of 169 total tackles, while also recording 7.5 sacks, 15 tackles-for-loss and two interceptions.
Ulbrich was a third-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2000 and played nine seasons for the franchise, appearing in 120 games with 75 starts. He totaled 501 career tackles, including 32 for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Following his playing career, he spent two seasons as a special teams assistant with the Seahawks before moving to the collegiate ranks at UCLA for three seasons as linebackers and special teams coordinator for the first two seasons (2012–13) and defensive coordinator his final season (2014). Ulbrich returned to the NFL with the Falcons in 2015 as linebackers coach and helped Atlanta reach the Super Bowl the following season.
In 2020, he was promoted to assistant head coach and linebackers coach, and later that same season, was named defensive coordinator as part of a midseason shakeup of the coaching staff. The following season, Ulbrich was hired by the Jets as defensive coordinator under head coach Robert Saleh and was named interim head coach on October 8 after Saleh was relieved of his duties.
