{"id":690126,"date":"2026-01-20T02:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/690126\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T02:10:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:10:18","slug":"cowboys-dc-search-narrows-after-falcons-retain-jeff-ulbrich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/690126\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys DC search narrows after Falcons retain Jeff Ulbrich"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jan. 19, 2026, 12:31 p.m. CT<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In their search for their next defensive coordinator, the Dallas Cowboys requested permission to speak with Jeff Ulbrich of the Atlanta Falcons. Dallas was hoping that after Atlanta fired head coach Raheem Morris, Ulbirch would become available, but the Falcons <a href=\"http:\/\/cowboyswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/cowboys\/2026\/01\/08\/cowboys-denied-permission-interview-falcons-dc-jeff-ulbrich\/88092911007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">swiftly denied the request<\/a> despite searching for their new head coach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Now that the <a href=\"https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=83224X1595658&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2Fkevin-stefanski-falcons-hire-former-browns-head-coach-as-new-hc&amp;xcust=SCOW&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fcowboyswire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fcowboys%2F2026%2F01%2F19%2Fcowboys-coordinator-search-falcons-jeff-ulbrich%2F88252628007%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-v-afl=\"\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Falcons have hired former Browns&#8217; HC Kevin Stefanski<\/a>, the team wasted no time in getting their staff put together. Ulbrich will remain with the team and continue to serve as the defensive coordinator in Atlanta. Dallas hoped to get a chance to interview Ulbrich but must now turn their attention to their <a href=\"http:\/\/cowboyswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/cowboys\/2026\/01\/16\/cowboys-in-person-interviews-defensive-coordinator-daronte-jones-jonathan-gannon\/88219667007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">other remaining candidates<\/a>, none who have the experience Ulbrich possessed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Ulbrich does not have a coaching connection with Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, putting to bed a perception that Dallas only hires people they know, but he does have experience with one of their assistants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Ulbrich and Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton worked together under the staff of former Jets head coach Robert Saleh during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/coaches\/UlbrJe0.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">2021-2024 seasons.<\/a> His addition may have allowed for less defensive staff turnover which now rests with whomever they hire as the new defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Both men also spent time with Cowboys defensive tackle <a href=\"https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=83224X1595658&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2Fjets-trade-dt-quinnen-williams-to-cowboys-for-first-round-pick&amp;xcust=SCOW&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fcowboyswire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fcowboys%2F2026%2F01%2F19%2Fcowboys-coordinator-search-falcons-jeff-ulbrich%2F88252628007%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-v-afl=\"\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Quinnen Williams who was acquired by Dallas<\/a> with some of the draft capital acquired from the Micah Parsons trade.<\/p>\n<p>Expert NFL picks: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":body nav (nfl)|e|auto spike click:6|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/picks\">Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/denver-broncos\/332\" data-autotag=\"80ecb2c2-c4e3-4c9a-8c53-01c0a2da3542\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Broncos<\/a> Jim Leonhard, Philadelphia&#8217;s Christian Parker, Minnesota&#8217;s Daronte Jones, and former <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/arizona-cardinals\/355\" data-autotag=\"c6331531-478d-4c7a-b93a-28f5b26af3f9\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Cardinals<\/a> head coach Jonathan Gannon remain the likeliest candidates to replace the departed Matt Eberflus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">You can follow Angel on X<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ArmyChiefW3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00a0@ArmyChiefW3<\/a>\u00a0and be sure to follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cowboyswire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Cowboys Wire on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jan. 19, 2026, 12:31 p.m. CT In their search for their next defensive coordinator, the Dallas Cowboys requested&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[95878,230,229,257,2461,7,6,96666,96667,95882,95890,95957,95886,95893,96167,95895,95899,97325,95975,95884,95883,95881],"class_list":{"0":"post-690126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-cowboys","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys","12":"tag-dallascowboys","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-sstssportsnflcowboys","16":"tag-sstsncowboys","17":"tag-tagamerican-football","18":"tag-tagarizona-cardinals","19":"tag-tagcleveland-browns","20":"tag-tagdenver-broncos","21":"tag-tagfacebook","22":"tag-tagmicah-parsons","23":"tag-tagnfl-hub","24":"tag-tagoverall-neutral","25":"tag-tagquinnen-williams","26":"tag-tagrobert-saleh","27":"tag-tagsports-coaching-training","28":"tag-tagsports-news","29":"tag-typestory"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115925000390936471","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}