The Jets fired Saleh after a 2-3 start in 2024, naming Ulbrich as their interim head coach. Ulbrich then led New York to a 3-9 ending, which resulted in a 5-12 overall record.
Prior to the switch, opponents averaged 17 points per game against the Jets. After the change, opponents averaged 26.6 points. So, there was a large drop-off when Ulbrich was required to focus on the whole team rather than just the defense. However, to be fair, five games at the start of the season is a much smaller and simpler sample size than the 12 games through the middle and end of season after teams figure themselves out.
Regardless, the Jets displayed a strong defensive effort with Ulbrich’s help from 2022-23, when his system was firmly established and he was focusing entirely on that unit.
New York had a rough go on defense in 2021, ranking last in both points and yards allowed. But that was Ulbrich’s first year — as well as the whole staff’s — and change can take time to implement. In 2022, his unit improve immensely, improving to No. 4 in both regards. That’s a 28-spot jump, the best improvement by any team in the league that year.
Again, the table above gets into each year and different standings. What it doesn’t show, though, is the Jets were the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in total defense (yards per game allowed) in each of the last three seasons. That’s below.
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