The Atlanta Falcons made moves to continue reshaping their staff of defensive coaches on Friday by naming Mike Rutenberg as defensive pass game coordinator and Nate Ollie as defensive line coach. The moves come six days after Jeff Ulbrich,

The Atlanta Falcons have hired former New York Jets defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich as their defensive coordinator, the team announced Saturday night. The Falcons interviewed seven candidates for the job, but Ulbrich always was considered the favorite because of his relationship with Falcons head coach Raheem Morris.

The Falcons fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers after an underwhelming season in Atlanta. The defense finished 23rd in points allowed and 23rd in total yards, while ranking 31st in total sacks last season.

The defense was heavily criticized by first-year Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris after the Falcons ended the season with back-to-back overtime losses (with a combined 74 points allowed). Morris was the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator for three seasons before taking over in Atlanta last January.

The Atlanta Falcons added to their coaching staff on Friday, naming Mike Rutenberg as defensive pass game coordinator and Nate Ollie as defensive line coach.

The hire of Ollie is one I’m quite excited about. As I wrote earlier this month when the Falcons were set to interview Ollie, he’s a coach who has either been assistant or ful