Ulbrich has plenty of ties to the Niners and the Bay Area
Late last week, a report surfaced that the San Francisco 49ers flirted with the idea of making Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo their DC. He wasn’t the only coordinator in the AFC that the Niners had their eyes on.
New York Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was a popular name that made sense for the Niners despite already having a job.
Ulbrich was born in San Jose, went to high school in Morgan Hill, and went to college at the University of San Jose. The 47-year-old was drafted by the Niners in 2000 in the third round after transferring to the University of Hawaii. He was a linebacker on the 49ers through 2009.
The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt reported that San Francisco reached out to the Jets for Ulbrich’s services:
“There was mutual interest in exploring a marriage, according to multiple league sources, but ultimately, the Jets made it clear that they were not going to let Ulbrich leave. Teams can block coaches under contract from taking jobs with other teams unless it’s a promotion (from position coach to coordinator or coordinator to head coach), which was not the case here.
The 49ers never officially requested an interview with Ulbrich, but there were conversations about pursuing him. The Jets likely would’ve required draft compensation from the 49ers to let him go, though there’s no guarantee Ulbrich would have even ultimately wanted to leave.”
So, while there were “internal discussions,” which could mean anything from writing Ulbrich’s name as a candidate on a piece of paper, it doesn’t sound like he was ever close to becoming the 49ers defensive coordinator.
Is this the last name we see who was a potential candidate? It’s all water under the bridge now, as the 49ers have their coordinator and assistant head coach.
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