The gray invading Jeff Ulbrich’s connected black beard, mustache and sideburns belies the abundant energy of a cleat-wearing coach who performs pushups and core workouts alongside his defensive players at the end of many a spring football practice.
One occasion this month saw the first-year defensive coordinator ending an altercation by seemingly using little more than finger strength in dragging a cornerback off the top of a receiver. A separate incident among players nearly put Ulbrich, in the middle of a sea of humanity, at the business end of a 275-pound offensive lineman’s arm. He saw the close call as exciting, harkening back to his NFL playing days.
Ulbrich’s propensity to behave as both coach and player facilitated his quick ascension to the top of UCLA’s defense.
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Ulbrich never considered himself an elite athlete. During his senior year of college at Hawai’i, he sought to maximize his NFL chances by studying football strategy like never before.
The San Francisco 49ers rewarded the linebacker’s efforts by selecting him in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Not a week went by during his 10-year NFL career without Ulbrich wondering about his job security.
“I don’t know if it was the healthiest approach,” Ulbrich said. “It was that intense fear that drove me every single year to constantly be at my best, to get myself the best opportunity I could. Because in reality, had I had a bad training camp or preseason, it would’ve been over for me.”
Jim Mora, UCLA’s current head coach and the 49ers’ defensive coordinator during Ulbrich’s first three seasons, noticed how the linebacker knew each position and understood each play call. Ulbrich served as an extension of Mora on the field.
“When he was a player, he didn’t just play the game. He was really invested in the game,” Mora said.
Mora believed that Ulbrich’s work ethic and football mind made the linebacker irreplaceable for the 49ers. Ulbrich played every one of his NFL seasons for the team he rooted for in his youth.
Ulbrich expressed admiration for Mora, who helmed the San Francisco defense for three of the four years in which he started more than 10 games.
“(Mora) had tons of energy and fire. … He was a unique combination, because typically those rah-rah energy guys aren’t great minds … and he had both. He was very, very fun,” Ulbrich said.
Shortly after Ulbrich’s injury-induced retirement in late 2009, Mora began the process of hiring his former player as special teams coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. Mora saw in Ulbrich the potential to be great, but lost his head coaching gig before he could complete the hire in winter 2010.
Current Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, Mora’s replacement, brought Ulbrich in anyway. Little more than a month elapsed between Ulbrich retiring and landing his first coaching job.
Mora would make good on his decision to hire Ulbrich the next time he had an opportunity, bringing him to Westwood in January 2012 as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach.
For former Bruins linebacker Jordan Zumwalt, Ulbrich walked the Bruins down the path toward realizing Mora’s vision of ending “old, soft UCLA” by forging a new identity centered around the initiative, rather than just desire, to excel.
He led by example, running through and diagnosing coverage during scrimmages and drills with linebackers.
“He’ll see what we see, follow our steps and coach us up off what he just went through. He experiences the plays with us,” Zumwalt said.
For Zumwalt, seeing a man more than 15 years his senior fly around with such energy provided relief, not anxiety. Zumwalt wanted to listen to Ulbrich. He knew the depth of Ulbrich’s experience and could conversationally speak to the coach.
Ulbrich made perhaps just as big of an impact on the special teams that comprised the core of his pro career’s latter half. He implemented his idea of a simple system that allowed players to play with fire and emotion and went on to say that the prideful attitude among the special teams units, which led the NCAA in blocked kicks and punts over the last two seasons, proved infectious for the entire team.
Ryan Hofmeister, last year’s special teams captain, had doubts as to whether he had a role on UCLA upon Mora’s arrival. The redshirt senior now feels indebted to Ulbrich, given how the coach’s emphasis on the oft-overlooked special teams brought out the best in him.
“He’s opened so many opportunities for someone like me, someone who comes from a (junior college), smaller-end guy. He fuels me to be better,” Hofmeister said.
When dealing with a defensive coordinator vacancy this past January, Mora remembered how naturally Ulbrich addressed and coached entire units. Two weeks passed between former defensive coordinator Lou Spanos leaving for the NFL and Ulbrich earning his current title.
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A frequent sidearm throwing motion during individual linebacker drills may indicate otherwise, but Ulbrich reinforced why some coaches and players think the 37-year-old could still play in the NFL during a Monday night this spring. He roamed among the defensive unit, showing blitzes off the edge to quarterbacks pre-snap and dropping into coverage on one play and then exaggerating an interception attempt on another. Mora joked that Ulbrich played outside linebacker throughout the scrimmage.
For as much enjoyment that Ulbrich’s moments of reliving his playing career provide for coaches and players, the coordinator prefers the present.
“I enjoy coaching more than I did playing. To see guys have success doing the stuff we’re teaching them, the positions we’re putting them in … that brings me more joy than if it were me making the play,” Ulbrich said.
“At the same time, the relationships I get an opportunity to build with these cats, these young guys, hopefully try to impact them in a positive way … it’s very cool.”
Ulbrich’s idea of glory days still appears to be on the way, if they have not already begun.