Falcons lose key piece of defensive staff to the Browns
According to Adam Schefter, Cleveland is hiring away Falcons defensive pass game coordinator Mike Rutenberg, who will take over as the Browns’ defensive coordinator. Rutenberg’s first real crack in the NFL came as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was named a pass game specialist for San Francisco in 2020 before […] The post Falcons lose key piece of defensive staff to the Browns appeared first on SportsTalkATL.com.
According to Adam Schefter, Cleveland is hiring away Falcons defensive pass game coordinator Mike Rutenberg, who will take over as the Browns’ defensive coordinator.
Rutenberg’s first real crack in the NFL came as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was named a pass game specialist for San Francisco in 2020 before heading to New York to be the Jets’ linebackers coach. He then followed Ulbrich to Atlanta to become the defensive pass game coordinator.
The Falcons finished 13th in passing yards allowed per game, limiting quarterbacks to just 200.4 yards per game through the air — a vast improvement from the 224.5 yards they allowed in 2024. The Falcons also set a franchise record for sacks in a season with 57 — 26 more than they had in 2024.
Ulbrich has referred to Rutenberg — a Cornell graduate — as someone with PhD-level knowledge of coverage schemes, according to 92.9 The Game’s Falcons reporter Joe Patrick.
Tough blow for the Falcons. Jeff Ulbrich says Rutenberg has “PhD knowledge” of coverage schemes https://t.co/Fl5ll7aiVy
— Joe Patrick (@JoePatrick) February 16, 2026
This is undoubtedly a pretty significant blow to the Falcons’ defensive staff. However, attrition is what happens to the staffs of successful units, something we haven’t said about Atlanta’s defense very often over the last two decades. I’ll take losing coaches to promotions over guys getting fired every day of the week.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
The post Falcons lose key piece of defensive staff to the Browns appeared first on SportsTalkATL.com.
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