Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich believes he has chance to be interviewed for permanent job
Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 29, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y. Credit: AP/Adrian Kraus
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — He’s saying there’s a chance.
During his post-practice media availability Friday, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said he believes he will have “an opportunity” to interview with owner Woody Johnson and his advisers for the head-coaching position.
“I think next week I’ll be given an opportunity at some point,” Ulbrich said. “And for sure, I look forward to that.”
Ulbrich replaced Robert Saleh on Oct. 8, two days after a 23-17 loss to former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and the Vikings in London, and the results have not been especially encouraging. The Jets have gone 2-9 under the interim coach, including an unsightly 40-14 loss to the Bills in Buffalo last Sunday that prompted Sauce Gardner to say “some people might be checked out.”
The 4-12 Jets, who began their 2024 season with playoff expectations, will finish another long-since-lost campaign Sunday at MetLife Stadium against Miami. That could end with insult added to injury if the Dolphins (8-8) clinch a playoff berth by beating the Jets and Denver loses to Kansas City.
“We had a lot of adversity this season,” said Jamien Sherwood, who was named the team’s most valuable player. “Obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted.”
As such, the likelihood that Ulbrich will become the franchise’s permanent coach in 2025 is slim. Add that to the fact that the Jets conducted interviews with Ron Rivera and Mike Vrabel on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Another potential candidate for the coaching job is former Jets coach-turned-ESPN analyst Rex Ryan, who has used his perch to lobby for an interview for months.
One of the criticisms — particularly from the loquacious Ryan — about this iteration of the beleaguered franchise has been about its culture. Specifically, the theory that the Jets are unprepared and do not play hard.
When asked for his assessment of an organization that has not qualified for the playoffs since 2010, Ulbrich pushed back on the critique.
“I don’t think there’s a huge flaw in the culture,” he said of a franchise whose 14-year playoff drought is the longest active absence in major North American professional team sports. “I do think there is an element of — there has been a lot of losing and that’s hard to overcome . . . You’ve got to fight it. You’ve got to overcome it, and the only way you really cure it is by winning and winning on a consistent basis.”
Ulbrich added: “I looked hard at this tape and I especially looked hard when the score got out of whack. I didn’t see anything. . . . anything. I didn’t see one human being tapping. I didn’t see one guy relenting. I didn’t.”
Gardner won’t play
Ulbrich said Gardner will not play Sunday with a hamstring injury. Offensive tackle Morgan Moses (knee), guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), tight end Tyler Conklin (calf) and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (hamstring) are questionable.
Tua out?
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is “unlikely” to play in Sunday’s game against the Jets, coach Mike McDaniel told The Associated Press. Backup quarterback Tyler “Snoop” Huntley is expected to make his fifth start of the season in Tagovailoa’s place.
